Sectoral Coverage Research Articles

Occupancy Comfort Evaluation in Green Building Rating Tools in Malaysia: A Comparative Review

Passive design strategy is the approach that maximizing utilization of natural resources to achieve occupancy comfort which covers the thermal comfort, visual comfort and acoustic comfort while minimizing secondary energy usage. Adapting passive design strategy during building design-stage is beneficial in reducing energy load of the building for long term, furthermore to reduce the energy consumption in day to day building operation. Applying Green Building Rating Tools, GBRT promotes passive design strategy for non-residential building and will assist the building designer to comply with the local and international standard. The minimum requirement of occupancy comfort is captured in GBRT rating system with different approach and intension of the system. This review summarize the coverage of passive design strategy sectors for non-residential building in Malaysia by comparing three GBRT system namely Green Building Index, GBI NCNR, MyCREST ICSAS and GreenRE NRB system. GreenRE NRB seems more aggressive in occupancy comfort evaluation compared to GBI NCNR and MyCREST ICSAS. GreenRE allocates 48.7% of total marks focus on occupancy comfort aspect while GBI and MyCREST allocates 14% and 13.2% respectively from the total score. MyCrest had enforce the mandatory compliance of OTTV, RTTV and Uroof to meet baseline requirement as per MS1525:2019 with zero marks allocation. Based on marks percentage allocation, GBI and MyCrest prioritizing visual comfort while GreenRE give more focus on thermal comfort with higher marks allocation. All rating system give less focus on acoustic comfort. On average, 16.3% of marks covers the thermal comfort, 9% covers visual comfort and 1% cover acoustic comfort. GBI and MyCrest focus more on green building materials which covers the building lifecycle includes water management and waste disposal. All system contributes to Malaysia-UNFCCC ratification of Paris Agreement on 45% GHG reduction in longer runs.

Measuring the Cost of the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism on Moroccan Exports

The ‘Fit for 55’ policy package was presented in the European Commission’s Green Deal framework, comprising a set of proposals to improve existing energy and climate legislation. Among its main proposals was a revision of the European Union’s Emission Trading System to expand its sectoral coverage. Anticipating the possible loss of competitiveness with carbon pricing within the EU—which may lead to ‘carbon leakage’—a carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) was included in the package. This scheme takes the form of an export tax levied by the European Union on some goods manufactured in non-carbon-taxing countries. In this paper, we provide a first-order estimate of the potential impact of CBAM on Morocco’s exports using an input–output approach. Our main findings suggest that the scheme would yield a carbon bill ranging from USD 20 to 34 million annually to Moroccan exporters in its initial phase. Morocco can mitigate such economic losses by instituting a national Emission Trading System, a tax reform, or speeding up the decarbonization of its economy.

The substantial impacts of carbon capture and storage technology policies on climate change mitigation pathways in China

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, considered as a pivotal tool in mitigating climate change within the fossil energy system, particularly in China, has experienced slower development than expected. The exploration of direct incentive policies to facilitate its growth remains relatively underdeveloped. This study developed a hybrid dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model to simulate the substantial impacts of CCS incentive policies on China within the context of carbon neutrality target. Two potential incentive policies, carbon emission trading system (ETS) and 45Q tax credit, were simulated, with different sectoral coverage. The results indicate that CCS technologies can reduce carbon emissions by 960 ∼ 1,604 MtCO2 annually by 2060 through the strategic implementation of these incentive policies. The 45Q tax credit demonstrates its effectiveness in promoting early-stage research and development (R&D) and demonstration of CCS, while the ETS policy facilitates the commercial development of CCS in the later stage of development. By 2060, the implementation of CCS incentive policies could potentially result in 7.7 ∼ 17.4 % reduction in China’s primary energy consumption, 71.2 ∼ 82.7 % decrease in the carbon price of ETS and 5.64 ∼ 6.59 % increase in the GDP compared with the no-policy scenario. In addition, the sectoral output in various sectors and the welfare of urban and rural households also increase. This paper provides an important reference for the realization of China’s carbon neutrality goal and the model framework can be applied to other countries.

Assessing the role of carbon pricing in global climate change mitigation strategies

Carbon pricing has emerged as a crucial policy tool in global efforts to mitigate climate change by internalizing the costs of carbon emissions and incentivizing emission reductions. This review provides an assessment of the role of carbon pricing in global climate change mitigation strategies. Carbon pricing mechanisms, including carbon taxes and emissions trading systems (ETS), have gained traction worldwide as governments seek effective ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These mechanisms establish a price on carbon emissions, creating economic incentives for businesses and individuals to reduce their carbon footprint. The effectiveness of carbon pricing in mitigating climate change depends on various factors, including the stringency of pricing mechanisms, coverage of sectors and gases, and complementary policies and measures. Studies have shown that well-designed carbon pricing policies can lead to significant emission reductions while promoting innovation and investment in clean technologies. However, carbon pricing also faces challenges and limitations, including concerns about equity, competitiveness, and political acceptability. Distributional impacts on vulnerable populations and energy-intensive industries must be carefully addressed to ensure the fairness and effectiveness of carbon pricing policies. Furthermore, the success of carbon pricing depends on international cooperation and coordination, as emissions can easily shift across borders in response to pricing disparities. Global efforts to harmonize carbon pricing mechanisms and establish international carbon markets can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of mitigation efforts. In conclusion, carbon pricing plays a crucial role in global climate change mitigation strategies by aligning economic incentives with environmental objectives. While it offers significant potential for reducing emissions and fostering the transition to a low-carbon economy, addressing challenges such as equity concerns and promoting international cooperation is essential for maximizing its effectiveness. By integrating carbon pricing into comprehensive climate policy frameworks, policymakers can accelerate progress towards a sustainable and resilient future.

The right to information in the context of digitalization

Using a complex system analysis, the authors investigate the right to information in the context of digitalization. The object of the study is social relations concerning the search, acquisition, transfer, production and distribution of digital information in the conditions of digitalization of the economy. The study’s subject includes Ukraine’s legal norms, regulatory provisions of international treaties and legal acts of the European Union, and theoretical scientific works on legal regulation of digital information. The research uses a dialectical, interpretive, historical-legal, formal-legal, comparative-legal, and systemic- structural method. It is indicated that the right to access information includes and ensures the realization of a set of rights that allow searching, receiving, transferring, producing and distributing digital information in information systems through existing rules and requirements of current legislation. The expansion of production, use, processing, storage, retrieval and transmission in digital form has influenced the further development of the right to information. In the case of digitalization, the right to information acquires a private-public expression, which is connected with the satisfaction of individual needs and the realization of national interests. Public interests are protected by the mechanisms of information bans and restrictions depending on the content of the information. It is noted that the digital form of information directly affects the change in the essence of individual legal relations and institutions in information law and other branches of law. Digitalization is not a systemic, sequential or structurally homogeneous phenomenon but provides significant sectoral coverage. The possibilities of free search, acquisition, transmission, production and distribution of information determined not only the emergence of remote communication but also the development of the informational component of the rights and freedoms of a person and a citizen for their implementation in a virtual environment, which made it possible to virtualize social processes. Further study of the right to information in the conditions of digitalization is connected with the study of the influence of the Internet on access to information.

The Magnificent Seven: Exemption, Relief, Equivalence, Recognition, Substitution, Deference, Trust – Reducing Regulatory Duplication and Frictions in the Cross-Border Supply of Financial Services

AbstractA financial services supplier authorised in its home state that wishes to supply services cross-border into another state will, absent any relief, have in addition to meet the regulatory requirements of that host state to trade in it. Regulatory frictions including duplicative regulatory requirements are barriers to cross-border trade. This article considers certain techniques deployed to reduce such barriers, noting that trust plays a part in many of them. These techniques grant relief to incoming firms from obligations to comply with the regulatory requirements of a host state. They may take the form of unilateral arrangements, with or without any conditions. There may be assessments of equivalence as a basis for relief from compliance with the host state’s rules: deference to the home state’s regime, a basis for recognition, whether unilateral or mutual. Recognition may be given effect through a party’s domestic laws or in international law under the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) Article VII. A GATS Article VII agreement can relieve regulatory frictions in the financial services sector alone as there is no requirement for “substantial sectoral coverage” as required for regional trade agreements under GATS Article V. Mutual recognition agreements for financial services in international law are, however, few in number.

Analysis of Micro and Small Business Owners' Perceptions of The Benefits of Sharia Insurance In Managing Business Risks

This study aims to analyze the perceptions of Micro and Small Enterprise (MSE) owners towards the benefits of sharia insurance in managing business risks. This research is located in Serdang Bedagai, using a case study-based qualitative research method. Data was obtained through interviews with 10 owner research informants, who were selected based on the coverage of various business sectors and income levels. The results revealed that MSE owners have a positive perception of the benefits of Islamic insurance in managing business risks. Although the understanding of Islamic insurance is limited, MSE owners who have not adopted Islamic insurance have varied perspectives according to their understanding and needs. The majority expressed readiness to use sharia insurance if the premium is affordable and the benefits are as needed. However, there are also those who still need further education regarding the concept and halalness of Islamic insurance products. This positive perception shows the potential for growth and adoption of sharia insurance in Serdang Bedagai Regency. However, there are also challenges, namely that there are still owners who do not fully understand the basic principles of sharia insurance.

Measuring the efficiency gains of merging carbon markets – A microsimulation for thermoelectric and industrial sources

Many carbon markets have emerged worldwide, but their poor sector coverage generates economic inefficiency. This is the first study that quantifies the efficiency gains of expanding the sectoral coverage of an Emissions Trading System (ETS) through an optimization model calibrated with microdata. For the above, the behavior of Chilean thermoelectric and industrial sources that participate in two independent ETSs is simulated, and then the effects of integrating both carbon markets are analyzed. The model minimizes the costs of meeting an aggregate emissions target subject to the abatement options for regulated sources. The results show that if a target of 30 % is established, the price of the allowances would be 36.2 USD/tCO2 in the ETS for thermoelectric sources and 17.4 USD/tCO2 in the ETS for industrial sources. The difference in the prices of both ETSs reflects that their merger would lead to efficiency gains. In fact, the price would be 34.4 USD/tCO2 if both types of sources participate in a single carbon market, implying a saving of USD 30.7 million, equivalent to 9.7 % of the total cost of compliance obtained with independent carbon markets. Thus, it is concluded that expanding the sectoral coverage of an ETS promotes efficiency through lower prices.

Risk spillover between carbon markets and stock markets from a progressive perspective: Measurements, spillover networks, and driving factors

Prior studies have established the existence of risk correlation and spillover effects between carbon markets and stock markets. However, these research findings have mostly been at the whole market-level and are limited in their applicability to sectoral-level and enterprise-level decision-making, especially for emerging economies like China. This paper adopts an innovative and progressive perspective to bridge this existing gap by leveraging the Diebold-Yilmaz spillover index method, social network analysis and exponential random graph model to comprehensively evaluate the spillover level, network structure, and driving factors between the China's carbon market and the stock markets across various sectors. It is found that: (1) the China's carbon market and stock market as a whole display significant, unbalanced, and extreme-event-sensitive spillover effects, with the carbon market primarily serving as a net receiver of information; (2) the spillover effects exhibit noteworthy heterogeneities across diverse sectoral stock markets, and we discovered that the carbon market plays the role of a “main benefit ” in the network; and (3) within the selected four representative sectors, environmental information disclosure indicator, enterprise green transformation indicator and selected financial indicators all have the potential to significantly influence the structure of inter-enterprise spillover networks to varying degrees. Overall, the findings of our study hold significant practical implications for policymakers and investors involved in the carbon market, while providing new insights into addressing real issues related to sectoral coverage in the carbon market.

The landscape of data and AI documentation approaches in the European policy context

Nowadays, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is present in all sectors of the economy. Consequently, both data-the raw material used to build AI systems- and AI have an unprecedented impact on society and there is a need to ensure that they work for its benefit. For this reason, the European Union has put data and trustworthy AI at the center of recent legislative initiatives. An important element in these regulations is transparency, understood as the provision of information to relevant stakeholders to support their understanding of AI systems and data throughout their lifecycle. In recent years, an increasing number of approaches for documenting AI and datasets have emerged, both within academia and the private sector. In this work, we identify the 36 most relevant ones from more than 2200 papers related to trustworthy AI. We assess their relevance from the angle of European regulatory objectives, their coverage of AI technologies and economic sectors, and their suitability to address the specific needs of multiple stakeholders. Finally, we discuss the main documentation gaps found, including the need to better address data innovation practices (e.g. data sharing, data reuse) and large-scale algorithmic systems (e.g. those used in online platforms), and to widen the focus from algorithms and data to AI systems as a whole.

Do prosumers behave differently from other consumers on collaborative consumption platforms?

PurposeThis paper aims at understanding the differences between user profiles in collaborative consumption (CC) platforms in order to improve their management approaches and set up customized strategies. Particularly, the authors investigate the emerging role of prosumers and their influence on the active participation and growth of CC platforms. Moreover, the authors study user experience to help promoting users' recommendation and offering intention.Design/methodology/approachThe sample includes responses from 6,388 users of CC platforms across the EU. The data were collected through the European Commission's Flash Eurobarometer survey 467 and analyzed through a partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).FindingsThe PLS-SEM findings suggest that prosumers are more likely than consumers to recommend and offer services through CC platforms. Furthermore, previous experience using platforms positively affects the switch from consumers to prosumers. The fsQCA suggests that only economic advantages affect the switchover decision.Research limitations/implicationsThis study deepens the hitherto unexplored prosumer role in CC platforms and its antecedents and drivers.Practical implicationsThe main limitations concern the generalizability outside of the EU, the unbalanced coverage of sectors and the number of moderator variables.Social implicationsProsumers act as golden actors because they contribute to enlarge both the customer base (through recommendations) and the provider base (through offering intention). Hence, managers should focus on prosumers' experiences to increase the critical mass and positive externalities of CC platforms.Originality/valueThis study helps understand the importance of the role of prosumers in the growth of CC platforms. The study provides more robust results through a cross-country and mixed-method research.

Characterizing sector-wide thermal energy profiles for industrial sectors

Process heat electrification, energy efficiency improvement, and renewable technology integration are the most effective ways of achieving industrial decarbonization. However, precise knowledge of thermal energy demands and excess heat sources along with the corresponding temperature levels is imperative for the most optimum integration of aforementioned process. The current study presents a novel methodology for constructing sector-wide composite curves to accurately characterize the thermal energy demands and the available excess heat sources for the Swiss industry subsectors. The sector-wide energy demand profiles derived from this methodology offer valuable insights into the quantity of heat demand and the quality of the available excess heat. Thus, enabling the implementation of energy efficiency and decarbonization technologies such as heat pumps, and renewable heating and cooling technologies. The sector-wide energy demand profiles are built using Pinch Analyses and top-down statistical approach, thus ensuring complete sectoral coverage. The application of this novel approach is demonstrated using Swiss meat and chocolate industry subsectors as case studies. Based on the sector-wide energy demand profiles developed for meat and chocolate production, heat pump integration and solar thermal integration can potentially reduce about 80% of process heat demand, for both sectors.

Bridging national and provincial targets: Quantitative evidence for emissions reduction accountability in Korean provinces

As an international collective action to stop global warming, most nations submitted their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). To help ensure consistency and comparability of data between different countries, guidelines are provided by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Likewise, subnations would develop their local strategies to achieve a country's NDC. In South Korea, guidelines have been established to facilitate the consistent development of provincial emissions reduction strategies. But the guidelines lack clarity in terms of institutional elements: i) sectoral coverage, and ii) accounting method of greenhouse gas emissions. The primary goal of this study is to show that provincial strategies significantly depend on those two institutional elements. This study examines two scenario sets: i) including or excluding electricity and industrial sectors, and ii) direct or indirect emissions based on a NDC base storyline. For this purpose, we selected GCAM-Korea, a version of the Global Change Analysis Model specifically designed to work at the provincial level in Korea. Simulation results show that those two institutional elements play important roles in evaluating subnational emissions reduction potential. For example, in Chungcheongnam-do, a province in South Korea, the reduction rate from 2018 to 2030 is 53.9%, including the power and industrial sectors. However, when excluding these two sectors, the reduction rate significantly falls to 10.1%. For Gyeonggi-do, the reduction rate based on direct emissions is 9.3%, but it significantly increases to 28.6% when considering indirect emissions. The absence of well-defined methods may result in provinces adopting ineffective and disparate emissions reduction approaches, thereby jeopardizing the attainment of the national target. Consequently, to avert any failure in meeting the national emissions reduction target, it is crucial to furnish uniform and definitive guidelines to all local governments. This approach will ensure a cohesive effort towards greenhouse gas reduction throughout the country.

Overview of Russian and global long-term healthcare forecasts (literature review)

In the 21st century, more and more attention is paid to long-term forecasts for the development of countries, regions and the world as a whole; the scope of their application is expanding, including the coverage of social sectors, and, above all, healthcare. Acquaintance with the existing foreign and domestic practice of developing long-term forecasts can be useful not only for those involved in their development, but also for decision makers in the healthcare sector.
 The purpose is generalization and systematization of published long-term forecasts in healthcare. Systematic search for publications according to the developed protocol. The protocol included databases of peer-reviewed publications, search terms, and search restrictions. The search for publications was carried out in the databases including Embase, Medline, Scopus, RSCI, etc. The search query was carried out using a combination of terms “free text” and “medical subject headings” related to the definition of long-term forecasts in healthcare. The main search restrictions were the language of publications, the date of publication and the forecast period covered. Conducting a comprehensive analysis, generalization and systematization of the information received on published foreign and domestic long-term forecasts in the field of healthcare, covering forecasts for the world as a whole, its regions and the Russian Federation. The long-term forecasts are most widespread in certain areas of healthcare development. Comprehensive forecasts covering several aspects of system development are less common. Quantitative forecasting methods are used more often, qualitative methods are mainly used in forecasting the technological development of the sector.
 Conclusion. Studying international experience, strengthening the Russian institutional base for conducting comprehensive long-term forecasts in healthcare will contribute to a better understanding of possible scenarios for the sector development and increase the state ability to respond in a timely manner to the economic, environmental and social changes taking place in the country.

International Collaboration in Times of Pandemics: An Urgent Need for Reforming our Global Financial System

Better, swifter and more responsive international coordination is needed within our global financial system for the containment of the pandemic and its effects. This requires better international tax coordination with a higher global minimum corporate tax, comprehensive coverage of sectors and firms, inclusion of all current tax havens and more generous redistribution of excess profits to developing nations based on user location. There also needs to be a more substantial and easier-to-access mechanism for debt relief and restructuring, one that generously suspends debt payments in periods of crises and provides financial support without strict and painful conditionalities.

Contribution of the European Bioeconomy Strategy to the Green Deal Policy: Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing These Policies

The Green Deal is an ambitious European development strategy that aims to create a carbon-neutral and environmentally friendly economy. This strategy encompasses key environmental policies such as climate change, circular economy, and sustainable development. Due to its broad and comprehensive definition and sectoral coverage, the European Union’s Bioeconomy Strategy, which is linked to the supply and demand of natural resources, is also crucial to the implementation of the Green Deal. However, there has been very little evaluation of the role of bioeconomy development in the European Green Deal. Therefore, by comparing the documents of these policies, the aim of this paper is to identify the main roles of the bioeconomy in the European Green Deal and overlaps, highlighting the opportunities and challenges of the implementation of these policies. The bioeconomy goals overlap with the European Green Deal targets. Looking at the eight main goals of the European Green Deal, all of them are related to the implementation of the bioeconomy. Preserving biodiversity and Farm to Fork actions are directly linked to the development of the bioeconomy, while the residual actions are partly linked to this development. In order to implement the Bioeconomy Strategy and the European Green Deal policy, it is essential to evaluate the vulnerability of biomass to the effects of climate change and the growing food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, the sustainable use of biomass and the promotion of biomass consumption in the energy, building, and transport sectors need to be examined.

Optimizing the rolling out plan of China’s carbon market

Although China has developed the world's largest carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS), there is no official documentation explaining how the current sectoral coverage plan was determined and what sectoral rollout plan is preferred. Here, we contribute to the policy development of the world's largest carbon market by suggesting a priority list of industries be covered in the ETS. We estimated marginal abatement cost curves using a database of more than two million firms covering over 500 four-digit industries that account for more than 97% of total industrial emissions, and simulating various carbon market scenarios including thermal power, 13 designated, and an additional 50 industries that have high emissions or are covered in other ETSs. Our analysis suggests that the cement industry should be the next sector to be included in China's ETS. In our revised list, the average abatement cost can be reduced by 39.5-78.3% compared with the business-as-usual scenario.

When standards have better distributional consequences than carbon taxes

Carbon pricing is the efficient instrument to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Nevertheless, the geographical and sectoral coverage of substantial carbon pricing remains low, often due to concerns about increasing economic inequality. Regulations such as fuel economy standards are more popular. Could the reason be that they have an equity advantage over carbon pricing? We develop two models, one representing energy services and the other the carbon-intensity of consumption, to identify the economic situations in which this is the case. First, we prove that an efficiency standard can be more equitable than carbon pricing when consumers prefer high-carbon technology attributes. Evidence from the US vehicle market confirms this finding. Second, we show theoretically, and through a numerical application to the Chinese transport sector, that intensity standards are preferable when richer households consume a greater share of high-emissions goods. Our results hold when the redistribution of carbon pricing revenue is not progressive. These insights may help advance decarbonisation when pricing instruments remain unpopular.

Prospective sectoral GHG benchmarks based on corporate climate mitigation targets

As climate change becomes firmly acknowledged as a financial risk, shareholders must consider corporate GHG performance to inform responsible investment decisions. To mitigate future climate risks, prospective benchmarks based on corporate climate mitigation targets are increasingly demanded by shareholders. However, existing benchmarks often lack sufficient sectoral coverage or fail to appropriately harmonize target metrics, scope, and corresponding timeframes. A harmonization process was developed which allows the calculation of sector-level prospective GHG benchmarks in terms of absolute or intensity GHG metrics. This process was applied to harmonize scope 1 and 2 emission targets of 1697 companies reporting in 2018 CDP questionnaires across 13 sectors using 2017 as the common reference year. Results indicate the importance of using a sectoral approach and applying a common reference year to avoid considering reductions occurring before the target was launched due to company choice of target reference year. In 2030, the lowest and highest median reduction rates values are −9% and −36% for fossil fuels and power generation sectors respectively. The findings obtained strongly suggest targeted percentage of reductions should not be the only metric considered when comparing corporate climate mitigation targets amongst peers. Target progress when the target was announced and at a common reference year was found to be an important metric to assess potential greenwashing or poor ambition. In 14% of cases, targets were already achieved when company launched them.

Is a clash coming when trade and climate meet at the border? The impact of the EU's carbon border adjustment on China's belt and road initiative

We empirically examine the effectiveness of EU Border carbon adjustment (BCA) in the context of BRI, by developing a hypothetical BCA scheme based on a multi-regional Input-Output model. We use various evaluation criteria such as sectoral coverage, economic condition of trade partners, compliance with trade regulations, and selection of Best Available Technology (BAT). Our analysis shows that the EU-BCA scheme covers 44% of the global traded emissions, of which 84% are generated in the BRI regions. However, the BAT principle and trade provisions reduce the coverage of BCA emissions for BRI regions, while assumptions about the carbon intensity of imports result in a further reduction. Our findings both cast serious doubt on BCA's ability to drive industrial decarbonisation and alleviate domestic producers' competitiveness concerns, and support the argument that EU-BCA may level the playing field for the EU's domestic market but may not address competitiveness concerns in other (non-EU) markets.