Reduction Of Environmental Emissions Research Articles

Assessing ecopreneurship impact on composite sustainability in the food and beverage industry: A holistic AHP approach integrating economic and environmental dimensions.

The implementation of ecopreneurship is evolving to address environmental sustainability challenges posed by industrial pollution. Scholars are exploring ways to enhance ecopreneurship implementation globally. However, there's a gap in understanding how ecopreneurship affects sustainability across economic and environmental dimensions. This study aims to explore the impact of ecopreneurship on sustainability, considering both economic and environmental indicators. The investigation was conducted through Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) methodology covering 102 ecopreneurs operating in the Tanzania food and beverage industry. The results of the study showed that implementation of ecopreneurship results in the attainment of sustainability through composite scores of 79.5%. In conclusion, this study underscores the significant impact of ecopreneurship implementation on composite sustainability, as evidenced by notable reductions in environmental emissions and improvements in economic performance within the studied industries. The findings highlight the importance of integrating environmental considerations into entrepreneurial endeavors for achieving sustainability goals. It is recommended that stakeholders actively promote and incentivize the adoption of ecopreneurship practices, invest in eco-friendly technologies, foster collaboration, implement effective monitoring mechanisms, and integrate sustainability into business strategies. The study recommends stakeholders' efforts directed towards enhancing the implementation of ecopreneurship practices in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs, 2015–2030), specifically goal nine (9) on pollution prevention through the implementation of Eco practices-based solutions to foster innovations and sustainable industrialization. Thus, strategizing the implementation of ecopreneurship practices is considered to have an essential contribution to addressing the challenges of sustainability and therefore enriching the realization of the global sustainable development agenda.

Recent advancements and performance implications of hybrid battery thermal management systems for Electric Vehicles

Electric Vehicles (EVs) can contribute significantly toward the reduction of environmental emissions caused by traditional Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs), as well as it reduces the reliance on conventional fossil fuels. Lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) are generally preferred for EVs due to their superior energy density, specific power output, and longer lifespan. LiBs are most effective and achieve optimal performance within a specific temperature range of 15-35 °C. An efficient Battery Thermal Management System (BTMS) is necessary to dissipate the heat produced in the battery during continuous charging and discharging process, which ultimately determines the operating range and life cycle of the battery. The hybrid battery thermal management system is becoming increasingly popular as it tackles the downsides and capitalizes on the upsides of individual conventional battery thermal management systems. Although hybrid Battery Management Systems are often mentioned in review articles, there is a lack of detailed or specialized discussions specifically on hybrid BTMS for electric vehicles. This article summarizes the current state-of-the-art and recent advancements in hybrid battery thermal management of LiBs and discusses the performance implications of a hybrid battery thermal management system. The study extensively examines hybrid BTMSs, designed to enhance the thermal performance of traditional BTMSs to cope with the stringent thermal requirements in high ambient temperatures and fast charging conditions. Lastly, the article critically evaluates and discusses the different BTMSs, emphasizing the future prospects, challenges, and recommendations in the BTMS field. The review's findings will assist researchers in determining the future direction of next-generation LiB thermal management systems for high-power electric vehicles.

Measuring the gap between optimal and observed energy structure: Evidence from 36 OECD countries

Sustainable development has always been given priority by economic authorities, therefore pursuing both environmental emissions reduction and economic growth at the same time is required. However, energy structure is often disregarded in existing performance evaluation methodologies, despite its essential function in determining environmental efficiency or productivity. This study shows how ignoring the energy structure can lead to distorted policy recommendations as well as evaluation results. The present study provides a non-parametric estimating approach to quantify the difference between the optimal (theoretical) energy structure required to achieve sustainable development and the actual (observed) energy structure. This method may assess the energy transition process and evaluate the observed and optimal energy structure of a country or region. We demonstrate that using the countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development as an example, that only a limited number of countries are able to meet their objectives for carbon reduction and economic development simultaneously without transforming their energy structure. The relationship between energy structure and green total factor productivity (GTFP) was further studied using a two-stage least squares regression on the observed energy structure and GTFP. The findings indicate that most countries need to increase their share of renewable energy in order to achieve green growth.

Environmental impact analysis of lithium iron phosphate batteries for energy storage in China

The deployment of energy storage systems can play a role in peak and frequency regulation, solve the issue of limited flexibility in cleaner power systems in China, and ensure the stability and safety of the power grid. This paper presents a comprehensive environmental impact analysis of a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery system for the storage and delivery of 1 kW-hour of electricity. Quantities of copper, graphite, aluminum, lithium iron phosphate, and electricity consumption are set as uncertainty and sensitivity parameters with a variation of [90%, 110%]. The results show that global warming potential is 9.08E+01 kg CO2 eq. and fossil resource use is 1.21E+03 MJ, with uncertainty ranges of [8.54E+01, 9.23E+01] and [1.15E+03, 1.23E+03], respectively. Electricity consumption during the manufacture and installation process is the greatest contributor to climate change (CO2 eq. emissions), accounting for 39.71% and largely owing to non-renewable sources, followed by cathode materials at 27.85% and anode materials at 18.36%. The disposal and recycling process offers emission reductions but requires an additional 1.17% use of fossil resources. Sobol T indices for the quantity of electricity are the highest for acidification, climate change, fossil resource use, and ionizing radiation. By considering the pathway of China’s electricity mix from 2020 to 2050 under the Paris Agreement’s 2° target, the potential for environmental emission reduction in the system is evaluated. The results show that the greener electricity mix could lead to a 24.59% reduction in acidification impact, a 35.74% reduction in climate change impact, a 33.24% reduction in fossil resource use, and a 44.13% reduction in ionizing radiation impact. This study offers a comprehensive view of the environmental impact reductions associated with the lithium iron phosphate battery and its industry.

Can Environmental Centralization Enhance Emission Reductions?—Evidence from China’s Vertical Management Reform

In the industrialization process, the difficulty in implementing environmental protection and enhancing the effect of environmental emission reduction are common problems to the developing countries, which are directly related to the quality of social development. This paper takes environmental centralization as the solution idea, takes the vertical management reform of environmental protection agencies implemented in China as the research object, and evaluates the environmental emission reduction effect and mechanism of action of centralized reform based on provincial environmental economic panel data using difference-in-differences model and intermediary model. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The environmental centralization has significantly improved the provincial environmental emission reduction effect. After China’s vertical management reforms were implemented, per capita CO2 emissions decreased by 11.1%, and industrial source SO2 emissions fell by 35.7%. (2) By increasing investment in urban environmental infrastructure construction, the reform has raised the level of investment and regulation in environmental protection construction, which in turn has effectively improved the ability to reduce environmental emissions. (3) After the implementation of the reform, the emission reduction effects of the reform on per capita CO2 and industrial source SO2 are 10.1% and 14.2% higher in provinces with lower industrial output value compared to those with higher industrial output value. At the same time, the effect of reform in provinces with a strong degree of local government intervention was significantly lower than that in provinces with a weak degree of local government intervention. The emission reduction effects of the reform implementation are 10.2% (per capita CO2) and 30.5% (industrial source SO2) lower, respectively. Based on the above findings, this paper argues that environmental centralization is an effective measure to advance the improvement of environmental quality and efficiency. In addition, China’s reform experience has implications for other developing countries.

Analysis on Mode and Benefit of Resource Utilization of Rural Sewage in a Typical Chinese City

The treatment of rural domestic sewage is essential for the comprehensive improvement of the rural environment. At present, the rate of resource utilization of rural domestic sewage is generally low in China, which fits with the actual situation of rural areas, and low cost is becoming the requirement for the development of rural sewage treatment technologies. Adopting a tailored approach based on local conditions for utilising sewage resources is the best option for rural sewage management. Therefore, it is very important and urgent to explore and evaluate the mode of rural domestic sewage resource utilisation. This paper analyzes the current status of sewage resource utilization in rural China. It researches and explores sewage treatment technology and resource utilization models based on 10 study sites in Yongkang City, Zhejiang Province. At the same time, this article evaluates pollution control effectiveness and environmental emission reduction benefits. The results show that the effluent quality of the treated wastewater by the skid-mounted resource utilization equipment met the reuse requirements and maintained stable water quality. The project can save 251,900 tons of high-quality water resources annually, reducing COD by 78.51 tons, reducing NH3-N and TP by 5.62 tons and 0.39 tons, respectively, and reducing carbon emissions by more than 134 tons. The project has achieved significant comprehensive benefits in water conservation, pollution reduction, and carbon reduction.

Time and energy optimal trajectory generation for coverage motion in industrial machines

The increase in computer numerical control machine efficiency highly contributes to environmental emission reduction and energy-savings. Path and trajectory optimizations are used to improve machine efficiency in a coverage motion such as pocket milling, polishing, inspection, gluing, and additive manufacturing. Several studies have proposed coverage motion optimization in improving machine efficiency for time and energy consumption. Ensuring the smoothness and satisfaction of the machine constraints in coverage motion is necessary. This paper proposes a multi-objective path and trajectory optimization to obtain a trade-off between time and energy consumption for coverage motion. Jerk limited acceleration profiles describe the trajectory where velocity profiles generated for each linear segment attain desirable velocities. The energy model of an industrial two-axis feed drive system is used in finding solutions to the optimization problem. The non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II generates a Pareto front for trade-off time and energy consumption solutions. Simulation results of the proposed method are validated through experiments using the industrial two-axis feed drive system. Experimental results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach where time reduction and energy savings are 10.05% and 2.10%, respectively. In addition, the optimized path has a lower maximum error of 76.6% compared to the constantly commanded velocity optimized path.

Processes Intensification for Sustainability: Prospects and Opportunities

Nowadays, any industrial process must not only respond to market requirements but also be sustainable. Process intensification (PI) offers promising opportunities toward enhancing the process performance while addressing sustainability objectives. Intensified process design and technologies take various forms including reduction in consumption of natural resources, increase in efficiency, decrease in physical size, increase in throughput, and reduction in environmental emissions. Thus, PI offers new opportunities for more sustainable processes. In this perspective article, the background, challenges, and opportunities of PI are presented to help identify options that lead to enhanced sustainability. The paper will also discuss emerging tools that can help intensify conventional processes and achieve a more sustainable performance.

APPLICATION OF BIO ADDITIVES IN DIESEL FUEL TO REDUCE CO, CH, SMOKE EMISSIONS IN AGRICULTURE

As part of the reduction of environmental emissions of tractors, combines and agricultural machinery when performing work in the agroindustrial complex, including in closed complexes for the cultivation of animals (livestock farms). The article presents proposals to improve the environmental characteristics of the diesel engine used in tractors of the agroindustrial complex of the Russian Federation. The effectiveness of the use of bioadditives from rapeseed oil for diesel engines is considered. The main directions of reducing emissions of toxic components of exhaust gases due to the addition of rapeseed oil to diesel fuel are indicated. The necessity of using bioadditives in diesel fuel to reduce emissions of CO, CH, and exhaust gases from diesel tractors when operating indoors is substantiated. A mixed fuel was used for the research. To get a mixed fuel, we mixed diesel fuel (DT) with rapeseed oil (RM). Based on the performed preliminary studies and these works, mixed fuel was prepared in the following proportions - 25% RM : 75% DT, 50% RM : 50 %DT, 75%RM : 25%DT. Rapeseed oil was obtained at ZAO Zelenogradskoye in the Pushkinsky district of the Moscow Region. The farm produces rapeseed seeds for the production of rapeseed oil, which is later used both for the confectionery industry and for livestock feed. Experimental studies have shown that the lowest content of CO, CH, in exhaust gases from diesel engines running on biofuels (25% RM:75% DT) and (50% RM:50% DT).

Nexus between Green Finance and Renewable Energy Development in China

ABSTRACT Renewable energy development is essential to energy structure transition and environmental emission reduction, and promoting renewable energy development via green financial instruments has been an effective approach to attain the objective of carbon neutrality in China. This research explores the bi-directional cointegration relationship between green finance and renewable energy development by adopting provincial data of China from 2005 to 2018. Results indicate a long-run bi-directional comovement exist between green finance and renewable energy development. This cointegration relationship appears in the eastern and central provinces of China, but is absent for western provinces. The pooled mean group estimators show that green finance cannot promote renewable energy development in the short run, whereas it does so in the long run for both the eastern and central provinces. Our research presents implications for emerging economies to initiate and design green financial instruments and renewable energy measures.

Optimal Design Of Smart Grid Renewable Energy System Using Homer Programme

<p>Smart grid is a network created through information technology, communication technology and electrical power systems. It is simply a “smarter” power grid which ensures a two-way communication between user and the power supplier. This work proposes a smart microgrid design hybrid renewable energy system based on solar, grid and wind energy resources. The optimization has been performed using homer software programme to get the best and optimal operation system. Hybrid system combines several energy systems together which offer increased energy reliability and security, and carry a large economic opportunity in terms of cost saving. A typical microgrid system would also include intelligent management that interfaces with the equipment via wired or wireless communication protocols. In the present work the optimization model has been developed for the optimal operation of the system. The modelled system collects meteorological and load data from a town. The optimal hybrid system design is realized by satisfying the load demand, nonlinear seasonal variations and equipment constraints. The main focus of the system is on operation of smart microgrids to maximize usage of green energy, reduction of environmental emissions, decrement of levelized cost of electricity and intelligent management of overall system.</p>

Assessing the environmental benefits of battery packs from multi‐vehicle and multi‐region perspective: Aiming for lightweight and carbon neutrality

AbstractVehicle lightweight and carbon neutrality turn out to be the critical goals in developing new energy vehicles. As an important part of electric vehicles, power battery packs have an impact on the environment. In this study, multiple environmental assessment indicators were grouped into a comprehensive index, namely the green characteristic index, and the green characteristic index was used to comprehensively evaluate the environmental impact of 11 kinds of battery packs. This study calculates and analyzes the environmental impact values of battery packs in different regions for four types of small, medium, intermediate, and limousine cars. Finally, the uncertainty analysis was carried out. Research has found that micro battery packs have a lower potential environmental impact than advanced battery packs, so smaller, more energy‐efficient battery electric vehicles (BEVs) generally perform better than larger BEVs for vehicle models. During the operation stage of the battery pack, the environmental impact value of carbon footprint and ecological footprint is greatly affected by the regional power structure. Running the battery pack in China will generate higher carbon footprint and ecological footprint. In addition, the green characteristic index is more affected by the stage of use. When the scene is switched, the larger the model of the electric vehicle, the more obvious its environmental emission reduction capability. This highlights the benefits of high‐efficiency electrical structures in large electric vehicles, which can reduce environmental impact by increasing lifetime and charging efficiency, reducing the loss of transport power in the area, and improving the weight‐to‐energy relationship for BEVs.

Hydrothermal Conversion of Waste Biomass from Greenhouses into Hydrochar for Energy, Soil Amendment, and Wastewater Treatment Applications

Solid hydrochar (HC) produced by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) of tomato plant biomass from a greenhouse (GH) was assessed for different inhouse applications, including fuel, seed germination, and leached GH nutrient feed (GNF) wastewater treatment. Completed experiments showed encouraging results. HC was revealed to be an efficient renewable fuel, having peat-like characteristics with high heating value of about 26.0 MJ/kg and very low clinker forming potential. This would allow the use of HC as fuel for GH heating as a substitute to costly natural gas, or it could be commercialized after pelletizing. Experiments with soil application showed substantial potential for the produced HC in better seed germination of tomato plants. Another benefit from use of the produced HC is as a soil additive, which would also contribute to environmental emission reduction. Results suggest that the generated HC can remove about 6–30% of nutrients from leached-GNF wastewater. This would be an essential treatment in the reduction of nutrients from leached water from GH operations, and thus could prevent/reduce eutrophication. The exhausted HC after treatment application could then be reused for soil remediation. Overall, the paper highlights the potential applications of hydrothermal treatment in valorization of low-valued GH TPB waste, resulting in a circular economy.

Extending the Service Life of Existing Concrete Structures to Last Beyond 100 Years

New bridges and other concrete structures are being built using the design concepts presented in SHRP2 R19A (Bridges for Service Life Beyond 100 Years: Innovative Systems, Subsystems, and Components) and FIB Bulletin 34 (Model Code for Service Life Design) to achieve 100+ year service life. Existing concrete structures may not have been built with a specific design service life in mind but the principles of SHRP2 R19A can be used to maintain and extend the service life of existing concrete structures. Application of these principles and methods can extend service life by mitigating corrosion of embedded reinforcing steel by over 80%. Extending the service life of existing reinforced concrete structures provides many benefits to structure owners and society. Direct benefits include cost savings for owners and a general reduction in disruption to the public caused by repair and replacement. Extending service life also provides many indirect benefits including; reduction in the use of materials, reduction in the generation of demolition waste, reduction of environmental emissions, and the protection of sensitive habitat and existing ecosystems. This paper presents case studies which illustrate how the SHRP2 R19A protocol was used to design durable repairs to extend service life of existing concrete structures and the direct and indirect benefits which were achieved. Service life extension of existing reinforced concrete structures is a sustainable practice and should be encouraged.

520 Late-Breaking: Effect of Technology on Environmental Emissions from Four Representative U.S. Feedlots and the Beef Production System

Abstract Our objective was to evaluate effects of technological management strategies on environmental impacts and net returns of feedlot operations in the United States. Feedlot operations were simulated with the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM 4.6; USDA-ARS, University Park, PA) to quantify baseline environmental impacts of feedlot production and full US beef cattle production systems. Strategies simulated included: ionophore, implant, ractopamine hydrochloride, combined management (ionophore, implant, and ractopamine hydrochloride; I+I+R), lubabegron, reduced mortality rate, and improved fiber digestion. Days on feed were adjusted whenever necessary and according to production practices typical of commercial feedlots. Subsequently, annual number of cattle finished by the operation was adjusted according to days on feed to maintain consistent one-time capacities. Mitigation strategies were individually modeled and simulated in IFSM for each feedlot operation to calculate intensities (expressed per kg gain) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, fossil energy use, blue water consumption, and reactive nitrogen loss. Additionally, net returns to management were estimated for each feedlot operation. Feedlots were then integrated with simulations of cow-calf, stocker, and backgrounding operations to estimate environmental intensities (expressed per kg carcass weight) for the full beef cattle production system. Carbon emission intensity was reduced most using the I+I+R strategy (10%), followed by implant (6%) and ionophore (5%) strategies alone. Similarly, energy use intensity was reduced the greatest by I+I+R (9%), ionophore (5%), and implants (4%). Reductions in water use intensity were also greatest using I+I+R (9%). Net returns increased for all strategies compared to baseline net return with the greatest improvements observed for I+I+R ($114/finished animal) and implants ($66/animal). Consistent results were observed for all strategies simulated across all four environmental intensities when quantified for the full cattle production system. Implementing I+I+R (7%), ractopamine hydrochloride (4%), and lubabegron (4%) in feedlots resulted in the greatest reductions in environmental emissions.

Subsidised water symbiosis of eco-industrial parks: A multi-stage game theory approach

Designing water symbiosis networks in an industrial site is aimed to solve the water quality and security problem by minimising freshwater consumption or pollutant discharge. However, implementing the symbiosis requires an expensive capital cost on the site and may need cost compensation by the authority to facilitate the operation. This work aims to identify the distribution of stable and fair profits to the plants from the government to each stakeholder with the Cooperative Game approach. This study considers the grand coalition of finite players (industrial plants/stakeholders) with authority to facilitate water recycling in an eco-industrial park. The first stage includes the determination of the park authority's objectives (i.e., to minimise cost, resource usage, or pollutants discharge) if the stakeholders cooperate. In the next stage, the park authority can then compensate the cost by providing incentives or subsidies for the stakeholders that participate in the symbiosis. The incentives can be a rewarding scheme for the recycling efforts, while the subsidies are the money required to build the facilities. The stakeholders are then allowed to decide the recycling amount that maximises their economic interests. A wastewater tax can be imposed by the authority to the stakeholders to stimulate them to take part in the symbiosis while generating the money source for subsidisation. Proper game analysis is provided to analyze the Nash Equilibrium solutions of the tax rate. A hypothetical case study is used to demonstrate how fair subsidisation can be identified and the implementation of taxation policy. The proposed framework demonstrates the potential benefits and guidelines for each industrial plant, as well as the government, to derive a feasible cooperative policy to achieve the goal of environmental emissions reduction and can be applied to analyze similar symbiosis.

Agriculture and Environment Sustainability through Interaction of Microbiology with Soil Chemical Nature

Soil is an unsolidified entity in which microbes are diverse, having mutualistic, antagonistic, synergistic relationships with plants and provides a base for living. The synthetic inputs (fertilizers and pesticides) and anthropogenic practices aimed at agricultural production dramatically enhance the soil chemical reactions. Inorganic chemical reactions that occur in soil pollute the environment after entering into four major environmental compartments including water and air. Presence of radioactive gases in the atmosphere may cause significant changes in the earth's environment, including changes in precipitation and temperature along with increase in the regional and global runoff that causes ecosystem degradation and human health related issues through acid rain. It is a burning topic in today’s context since it is vital to conserve the ecosystem in a sustainable manner and as a result it decides whether global food production is increasing or decreasing. Management of these chemical processes by different methods is essential which could be a viable choice for the reduction of environmental emissions and improving growth and yield attributes of agricultural commodities. Among all the strategies, microbial adaptation in synthesizing reactions is crucial as it reduces ecosystem effects and increases the global food production for the growing population.

Environmental emissions reduction of a preoperative evaluation center utilizing telehealth screening and standardized preoperative testing guidelines

The healthcare sector is responsible for 8.5% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the United States. To prevent catastrophic effects of climate change, urgent reductions in GHG emissions are needed. Unnecessary preoperative testing and clinic visits contribute to excessive utilization of healthcare resources and patient travel, and addressing them may help reduce emissions. A retrospective cross-sectional analysis of GHG emissions associated with pre- and post- implementation of a novel telehealth preoperative evaluation process was performed on 298 American Society of Anesthesiologists Class I-III patients undergoing elective spine surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital. Electronic health records were evaluated to determine patient health status and necessary or unnecessary preoperative tests and clinic visits. Life cycle assessment and U.S. EPA GHG calculator were used to estimate carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions from preoperative testing, clinic visits, and patient commuting. GHG emissions were reduced by 8.09 kg CO2e (9.6%) per patient, from 84.52 kg CO2e pre-intervention to 76.43 kg CO2e post-intervention (p = 0.019). The largest reduction, 14.71 kg CO2e, stemmed from fewer in-person clinic evaluations. An additional reduction of 18.07 kg CO2e per patient would have been possible if clinic performance were optimized (only necessary testing performed), resulting in a total reduction of 26.16 kg CO2e (31%). A preoperative clinic using established testing guidelines and telehealth can reduce environmental emissions. With more than 40 million annual surgeries nationwide, concerted effort to reduce unnecessary testing and visits should help curtail healthcare GHG emissions.

A big data mining approach for environmental emissions prediction of die casting process

As the key component of the manufacturing industry, die casting process suffers severe emission problems, which disobeys the prospects of Industry 4.0 and green manufacturing. Environmental emissions prediction of the die casting process is the foundation to optimize the environmental impact factors to achieve lower environmental pollution and health hazards of workers. However, the physical causal relationships between influential factors and environmental emissions are hard to be modeled. As a result, the environmental emissions prediction of the die casting process still faces a huge challenge. The big data mining approach can obtain the relationships disregarding the physical causal effect. This study firstly analyzes and demarcates nine impact factors that influence the four major environmental emissions PM2.5, PM10, noise, and temperature in the die casting process. Then, a big data mining approach integrating principal component analysis, particle swarm optimization, and back-propagation neural network is proposed for environmental emissions prediction. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified through a case study of die casting islands. The results show that the accuracy of the proposed method for the prediction of four environmental emissions and six types of die casting islands exceeds 90%. This proposed approach can strongly support the optimization of process parameters, layout of die casting island, etc. toward environmental emission reduction. It can also be easily applied to other processes such as plastic molding, machining, and extruding for emissions projection.

Investor rewards to environmental responsibility: Evidence from the COVID-19 crisis

The COVID-19 shock and its unprecedented financial consequences have brought about vast uncertainty concerning the future of climate actions. We study the cross-section of stock returns during the COVID-19 shock to explore investors' views and expectations about environmental issues. The results show that firms with responsible strategies on environmental issues experience better stock returns. This effect is mainly driven by initiatives addressing climate change (e.g., reduction of environmental emissions and energy use), is more pronounced for firms with greater ownership by investors with long-term orientation and is not observed prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Overall, the results indicate that the COVID-19 shock has not distracted investors' attention away from environmental issues but on the contrary led them to reward climate responsibility to a larger extent.