Sustainable Development Priorities Research Articles

Democratising local values and priorities in regional landscape planning: a Danish strategy-making case

This article analyses and discusses how to develop contemporary methods to conduct democratic and sustainable planning in rural landscapes based on place-making, collaborative planning and strategy-making. The analysis is based on a Danish regional strategy-making case, the Nørreådalen river valley (NRV), which is used to explore how to democratically incorporate local values and establish sustainable development priorities. The NRV case highlights the significance of cultivating a shared frame of reference to foster inclusive and informed landscape strategies, which underscores the importance of understanding diverse values and their holders in landscape governance. Collaborative strategy-making may serve as a powerful method for addressing complex challenges and fostering sustainable development in rural landscapes provided it is tailored to the specific contextual considerations and nurtures a comprehensive understanding of shared landscape values.

Assessing the EU Climate and Energy Policy Priorities for Transport and Mobility through the Analysis of User-Generated Social Media Content Based on Text-Mining Techniques

For over three decades, the European Union’s (EU) transport policy has aimed at fostering environmental sustainability and energy efficiency. Since 2015, European policymakers have focused more on three key sustainable development goals: decarbonizing the transport system, promoting low-emission mobility solutions, and transitioning to renewable and alternative fuels. To effectively communicate priorities and engage stakeholders, EU policymakers regularly use social media platforms like Twitter (now known as X). This active discourse involves policymakers, industrial stakeholders, the media, and the public, offering insights into the role of transport policy in addressing climate change and energy transition challenges. The current research endeavors to track and analyze the evolution of user-generated content related to climate change, energy transition, and smart mobility on Twitter from 2011 to 2021. This research uses text-mining and social network analysis techniques to quantitatively and qualitatively assess the dynamics of relevant EU policies and their effects. The study’s findings can be used to establish a robust monitoring and evaluation framework at the EU and national levels. This framework will assess the effectiveness of communicating strategic priorities for sustainable transport development. It also holds potential for application in other sectors, broadening its impact.

Mitigating air pollution benefits multiple sustainable development goals in China

Achieving the United nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) remains a significant challenge, necessitating urgent and prioritized strategies. Among the various challenges, air pollution continues to pose one of the most substantial threats to the SDGs due to its widespread adverse effects on human health and ecosystems. However, the connections between air pollution and the SDGs have often been overlooked. This study reveals that out of the 169 SDG targets, 71 are adversely impacted by air pollution, while only 6 show potential positive effects. In China, two major atmospheric nitrogen pollutants, ammonia and nitrogen oxides, resulted in an economic loss of 400 billion United States Dollar (USD) in 2020, which could be reduced by 33% and 34% by 2030, respectively. It would enhance the progress towards SDGs in China by 14%, directly contributing to the achievement of SDGs 1 to 6 and 11 to 15. This improvement is estimated to yield overall benefits totaling 119 billion USD, exceeded the total implementation cost of 82 billion USD with ammonia as the preferential mitigation target. This study underscores the importance of robust scientific evidence in integrated policies aimed at aligning improvements in environmental quality with the priorities of sustainable development.

Review on Lightweight Mobile Flood Wall Barrier: Way Forward for Malaysia

Flooding is a persisting challenge in Malaysia. Combating flood risk has become a main priority for sustainable development in this country. The application of sophisticated engineering in hard structure approaches and flood control systems are often incongruous to the public. Therefore, there is a need to integrate the soft engineering approaches and the best practises of flood management to mitigate flood risk. There is also a need to integrate the concept of sustainable development into its planning policies towards flood hazard reduction. Mobile flood protection measures are useful as an alternative solution in flood protection and mitigation purposes. Mobile protective systems can be used for temporarily increasing the height of permanent flood protection structures during extreme events and can be utilised as emergency measure against flooding in unprotected low-lying areas. As the available mobile systems differ in the type of material, method of installation and available protection height, a description of their features, and potential application were examined including their respective opportunities and drawbacks. This article presents a review on different types of lightweight mobile flood wall barrier (MFWB) that were implemented to cope with floods in Malaysia with examples of application in other countries such as United Kingdom, Slovakia, and Netherlands. The MFWB products are reviewed and compared to each other according to the types, characteristics, mechanisms, drawbacks and how these measures are integrated into spatial planning. Based on the findings, several suggestions are given on how to improve the flood risk management in flood-prone areas and way forward for Malaysia.

Forest carbon removal potential and sustainable development in Japan

Forests play a crucial role in mitigating climate change and reducing emissions as a major carbon sink. However, its value in removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere is always underestimated in natural capital (NC) accounting and sustainability assessments. This study predicted Japan’s forest CO2 removal by afforestation and forest management and its monetary value until 2042 from national to gridded level, with statistical data and complementary satellite data products, and explored how that CO2 removal will contribute to sustainable development under the inclusive wealth (IW) framework. The results show that: (1) the annual CO2 removal by forests has the potential to offset 15.3% of the emission and increase NC by 6.8% in Japan, significantly contributing to carbon neutrality and IW growth; (2) the total CO2 removal in exiting forests will peak at around 2030 and then decrease, but expanding afforestation could offset that decrease in later years; (3) the spatial distribution patterns of IW and forest CO2 removal are opposite. This indicates a national carbon trading market could create new wealth for rural communities where vast forests exist, and then effectively balance the inequal urban–rural development in Japan. The explicit spatial information of this study could provide valuable information for differentiating policy priorities of forestry planning and sustainable development in different local communities.

Forex Reserves: A Catalyst for Economic Sustainability

The intersection of foreign exchange reserves allocation and the pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals 8 (SDG 8) stands at the forefront of contemporary economic discourse. This research paper conducts a comprehensive analysis aimed at understanding the intricate relationship between countries' Foreign Exchange Reserves and their progress toward achieving sustainable development. Through quantitative analysis, this research evaluates the alignment of foreign exchange reserves with SDGs 8 by identifying the linkage between Forex and GVA. The findings reveal valuable insights into the patterns of foreign exchange allocation and their significance for sustainable development initiatives. Moreover, this research offers a clear perspective for optimizing foreign exchange reserve management to better serve the aspirations of sustainable development. This study offers a vital framework for policymakers, economists, and transnational institutions striving to harmonize economic stability with sustainable development priorities on a global scale. Granger Causality test have been considered for Quantitative analysis of data.

РАСЧЕТНО-АНАЛИТИЧЕСКИЕ МЕТОДЫ ОЦЕНКИ ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКОЙ ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТИ ИННОВАЦИОННОЙ ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТИ В КОНТЕКСТЕ ТРИАДЫ «ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ – НАУКА – ПРОИЗВОДСТВО»

The article is devoted to the research, critical rethinking and comparative characterization of the socio-economic advantages and disadvantages of calculation and analytical methods for assessing the effectiveness of innovation activities in the context of the triad “education – science – production”. The article examines the scientific, theoretical and practical-applied attributes of the “Market to Book ratio” method; algorithm for assessing goodwill using the criterion of business activity of companies; functional cost analysis; parametric assessments of technologically correlated projects (“Scorecard Methods”; methods of “Scandia Business Navigator” and company business browsers, etc.). In the process of the study, conclusions were drawn about the conceptual inconsistency and inconsistency of the proposed solutions, and the author’s calculation and analytical tools for assessing the effectiveness of innovative activities of enterprises were proposed, containing coefficients of socio-economic significance and efficiency that reproduce the priorities of sustainable innovative development.

ПРОДУКТОВАЯ СТРАТЕГИЯ В МОДЕЛИ СОГЛАСОВАНИЯ СТРАТЕГИЙ ФУНКЦИОНИРОВАНИЯ И РАЗВИТИЯ ПРОМЫШЛЕННЫХ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЙ

The trend of implementing ESG principles into the corporate strategies of industrial enterprises in the context of recent years' realities determines the research focus on finding the effective instruments for their sustainable operation, capable of achieving the actualized priorities of sustainable development. Specifically, the emphasis is on reaching a consensus through aligning the operation and development strategies of industrial enterprises. As a result, the research proposes a model for building the sustainable development strategy for industrial enterprises, where the strategic process is based on the hierarchy of strategies and the matrix nature of strategy formation contributes to their convergence and subordination to the general corporate strategy. Thus, supporting strategies that specify the corporate strategy in terms of the enterprise's resources and capabilities are divided into two groups – operation and development. The alignment of these strategies leads to the product strategy, organized as business-projects. The authors' proposed consensual approach to sustainable development strategic planning is based on the idea of making long-term decisions on the nomenclature, assortment, production volumes and sales of innovative products, and implies the analysis of the discrete-continuous dynamics of the innovative products/technologies’ life cycles in order to synchronize them and generate sustainable positive cash flows, capable of realizing non-economic objectives of sustainable development.

SUBSTANTIATION OF REQUIREMENTS FOR THE STRUCTURAL AND ALGORITHMIC ORGANIZATION OF AN IOT MONITORING SYSTEM FOR SOIL AND CLIMATE PARAMETERS IN AGRICULTURAL CROP ENTERPRISES

Relevance. As one of the key sectors of the global economy, agriculture plays a decisive role in shaping sustainable economic development and ensuring food security worldwide. Achieving satisfactory indicators of food security and the export potential of agricultural products is a domestic priority for economic recovery and sustainable development. Accordingly, the development and implementation of modern digital technologies in agriculture becomes a strategically important task. The utilization of cutting-edge technologies for the agricultural sector, coupled with the improvement of cultivation and processing methods for agricultural crops, is a key element in ensuring the resilience and efficiency of the industry. The main aim is to conduct a critical analysis of existing solutions in the field of information monitoring for agricultural purposes. This analysis will allow the development of an optimized structural and algorithmic organization for the computerized system. This system is designed to implement effective monitoring and decision support for managing agricultural processes. The research object is existing approaches and methods for organizing monitoring systems in the agricultural sector to collect, transmit, and process measurement data. The research subject is information and communication software and hardware solutions in the field of computerized monitoring for agricultural purposes. Conclusions. It has been substantiated that the development and implementation of conceptual software and hardware solutions in information technology for monitoring soil and climatic parameters when cultivating agricultural crops in open-field conditions are currently a relevant scientific and applied task. The set of requirements for the structural and algorithmic organization of the IoT technology for soil and climatic monitoring has been substantiated. An analysis and selection of technologies on which the investigated hardware and software solution will be based have been carried out. The overall and detailed structural and algorithmic organization of the investigated IoT system for agrotechnical monitoring has been developed, and priority directions for further research have been established.

Environment Education for Sustainable Development (SD) Among Primary School Teachers

Environment Education is a priority for sustainable development at primary school level in line with UNESCO to produce citizens with sustainable lifestyles. This study aims to identify the level of knowledge, attitude and practice/behaviour among primary school teachers regarding the environmental education for sustainable development. It then also analysed the relationship between the level of knowledge, attitude and practice/behavior of sustainable development. Data were obtained quantitatively through a questionnaire survey where 300 teachers were randomly selected to be involved in this survey. The result showed that the level of knowledge of sustainable development among primary school teachers is high with the mean value of 3.80. The level of attitude sustainable development is also at a high level with the mean at 3.70 meanwhile the level of practice/behavior, sustainable development at moderate level with the mean of 3.25. This study also revealed that there is a strong and significant relationship between the level of knowledge and attitude of sustainable development primary school teachers with r -value at 0.765. There is a weak correlation between the level of teacher’s attitude and their practice/behavior with r -value at 0.455. It clearly showed that higher knowledge influences the attitudes of primary school teachers for sustainable development. At the other point, higher knowledge and attitude is not a guarantee towards positive practice/behavior for sustainable development among primary school teachers. This situation needs improvement and an effective way to produce today's generation that loves their environment and nature. Teachers as an educator became a front liner group for making sure environment education is successful at primary school level.

Georgia in the global ecosystem and the main priorities of sustainable development

In the conditions of globalization, it is especially relevant to research the perspective of sustainable development of countries focused on increasing competitiveness. Sustainable competitiveness, on the one hand, as a guarantor of the country's development, determines the place and role of each country in the world ecosystem and, on the other hand, ensures the growth of public welfare. Georgia - located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, is trying to take a worthy place in the global economic system. It has a small but open market and benefits mainly through international trade, tourism and transit services. The New Silk Road gave the country the opportunity to further expand trade and economic relations through the "Middle Corridor" to attract foreign investors by offering favorable conditions and to ensure the formation and development of a competitive economy by joining the European Union. In the paper, based on statistical data, the main trends of the development of the national ecosystem, the achievements of Georgia and the priorities of the country's economic development strategy are evaluated.

USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN FINANCING PROJECTS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN KAZAKHSTAN

The purpose of the study is to identify new mechanisms for increasing financial support for sustainable development projects in Kazakhstan based on the use of digital technologies.Methodology. To conduct the study, the methods of content analysis of scientific literature, dynamic analysis of indicators for the development of sustainable financing in Kazakhstan, and comparative analysis of the possibilities of investment platforms and portals were applied. The statistical data of the Green Finance Center in AIFC, the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, international and national standards and guidelines in the field of sustainable development were studied.Originality/value of the research. The study is aimed at solving the actual problem of developing sustainable financing in Kazakhstan. To achieve this goal, the study proposes the use of digital platforms that will help to attract private investment in sustainable development. The criteria for checking projects for compliance with the goals of sustainable development have been systematized.Research results. The stages of developing a digital platform for financing sustainable development projects, logical relationships between processes and information flows, types of connections between platform users are determined. The platform solution can contribute to the growth of funding for the green economy and social projects and make a significant contribution to the promotion of sustainable development priorities.

Making universal education a priority for sustainable development: The EU, Vietnam and education

AbstractThis article highlights the need to bring education to the forefront of EU policies to promote sustainable development in Vietnam. The EU is increasingly concerned with promoting sustainable development worldwide. It does this in its aid policies, and since 2010, it has included in its trade agreements provisions on labour, environmental and gender rights. But what about education rights? This article analyses the role of the EU and the Vietnamese government in the field of education. It argues that both actors could pay more attention to education, and in particular to the problem of unequal access to education for poor and minority children in Vietnam. To improve educational opportunity, both direct funding for the system and contextual support for students are needed. In remote and poor areas, Vietnam and the EU should provide increased salaries for teachers to reduce corruption, funding to support families, local social enterprises and improved local infrastructure. The article ‘double‐decenters’ the study of European foreign policy by (1) focusing first on education policy issues in the targeted state and then on EU policy and (2) listening not only to the government but also the citizens of Vietnam.

Using the QATCHEPP quality assessment tool to critically reflect on health promotion practice

Abstract Issue Critical health promotion is required to reduce health inequities and is distinguished from selective health promotion by its focus on the unequal distribution of structural and systemic privilege and power. This approach is central to progressing global priorities of health equity and sustainable development. However, much practice remains selectively oriented to a biomedical-behavioural approach. The Quality Assessment Tool for Critical Health Promotion Practice (QATCHEPP) was designed to support practitioners to engage in critical reflection on health promotion initiatives to assess the extent to which they align with a critical approach. Project description This project was a case study conducted in 2023. The objective was to use QATCHEPP to critically reflect on a place-based health promotion project. The case study question was to what extent does the health promotion project align with a critical approach? QATCHEPP includes three reflection questions for 10 critical health promotion values and principles, scored as strongly critical (2), somewhat critical (1), minimally or not at all critical (0), or insufficient evidence to be rated (0). Total scores for each value and principle and an overall summary score were calculated. Results The QATCHEPP summary score was 55% indicating that the project was somewhat aligned with a critical approach, with highest scores for assuming that people are doing their best for their wellbeing, and maximum beneficence, and lowest scores for consideration of non-maleficence and a salutogenic approach. Lessons QATCHEPP is an innovative and useful tool for critically reflecting on the extent to which health promotion initiatives align with a critical approach. We recommend that findings from such critical reflection be used by practitioners to identify where initiatives may benefit from re/orientation towards a more critical health promotion approach in any setting or country. Key messages • Practitioners should engage in critical reflection to determine the extent to which health promotion initiatives align with a critical health promotion approach. • QATCHEPP is an innovative and useful quality assessment tool to support critical reflection. Findings can be used to re/orient health promotion practice towards a more critical approach.

The impact of end consumers for renewable energy development through a behavioral choice in favor of clean energy

This article examines the challenges of renewable energy development in the context of global sustainable development priorities, the world’s achievement of climate neutrality by 2050, and the current challenges of financing energy transformation programs. The shortcomings of state regulation of the renewable energy sector due to the introduction of a feed-in tariff, which in the case of Ukraine has had negative consequences for the energy market, foreign investors, and the state budget, are discussed.The presented hypothesizes that irrational consumer choices and behavioral factors that influence purchasing decisions and the utility of the transaction may affect renewable energy development. The economic potential of attracting European Union end-user’s funds to finance renewable energy measures using behavioral economics tools, including incentives for consumer choice in favor of clean energy products, is assessed.The logic of consumer choice of buyers belonging to different age categories, with different income levels and permanently residing in Ukraine, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic between products produced using conventional energy and “clean” energy was investigated, the identified regularities were described and conclusions were drawn.It is shown that the use of effective instruments of behavioral economics in the context of stimulating informed consumer choice in favor of products produced using “clean” energy can create conditions for attracting additional funds from end users to the development of renewable energy.In the process of public policy moderation in the energy sector, it is proposed to stimulate the introduction of the market and behavioral instruments to stimulate consumer demand in favor of products produced using clean energy, with the formation of a transparent chain of fixing the use of clean energy at all stages of production.
 JEL classіfіcatіon: М30, М31, М38, R11

Prevalence and determinants of food insecurity among pregnant women in Nigeria: A multilevel mixed effects analysis.

Food insecurity (FI) remains a key priority for sustainable development. Despite the well-known consequences of food insecurity on health and well-being, evidence regarding the burden and determinants of FI among pregnant women in Nigeria is limited. Framed by the social-ecological model, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of FI, and its associations with individual-/household-level and contextual-level factors among pregnant women in Nigeria. A cross-sectional study based on the Nigerian Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (2021 Nigerian MICS6) was conducted among a sample of 3519 pregnant women aged 15-49 years. Several weighted multilevel multinomial logistic regression models were fitted to assess the association between individual-/household-s level and community-level characteristics with FI. We estimated and reported both fixed effects and random effects to measure the associations and variations, respectively. Results: The prevalence of FI among pregnant women in Nigeria was high, with nearly 75% of the participants reporting moderate to severe FI in the past 12 months (95% CI = 71.3%-75.8%) in 2021. There were also significant differences in all the experiences of food insecurity due to lack of money or resources, as measured by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES), except for feeling hungry but not eating because of lack of money or resources (p < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis revealed that higher parity, households with 5 or more members, household wealth index, urban residence, and community-level poverty were significantly associated with FI. Our study demonstrates a significantly high prevalence of FI among pregnant women in Nigeria in 2021. Given the negative consequences of FI on maternal and child health, implementing interventions to address FI during pregnancy remains critical to improving pregnancy outcomes.

Ініціативи міжнародних організацій для розвитку інструментів сталого фінансування

Introduction. The COVID-19 pandemic and the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation have created many difficulties for doing business in Ukraine. However, despite the existing challenges, representatives of domestic business continue to adhere to the standards of sustainable development. In turn, financial institutions, as well as the financial regulator, continue to stimulate mechanisms and develop trends in sustainable financing. Thus, the National Bank presented the Policy on the development of sustainable financing for the period until 2025. The development of the policy was carried out in the framework of cooperation with the International Finance Corporation, whose experts emphasized the need to develop a roadmap for sustainable financing, which will allow combining the capabilities of the private and public sectors in order to strengthen the practices of sustainable financing with the support of the state. Accordingly, the implementation of sustainable development initiatives in the financial sphere requires state support, and also involves the application of the experience of international organizations and the study of successful international practices of sustainable financing. Problem Statement. Assessment of the role of international organizations in the development of tools for sustainable financing at the level of national economies. The purpose is to substantiate the essential characteristics of sustainable financing tools, evaluate successful practices of strengthening sustainable financing within the framework of initiatives of international and European organizations with the aim of applying them in the process of building a domestic sustainable financing policy and strategy, forming and applying roadmaps for financing sustainable development priorities based on innovative tools. Methods. General scientific and special methods were used, in particular: scientific abstraction and epistemological (content) analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, analogies and systematization, system-structural analysis, expert evaluation method, index method and grouping method. Results. The article examines the modern characteristics of sustainable financing and its evolution, the typology of sustainable financing. The basics of the spread of sustainable financing practices in Europe, as well as the essential characteristics of sustainable financing instruments (social and green bonds, social and green loans, sustainable development bonds and loans) are considered. An assessment of the volume and distribution of sustainable development financing instruments at the international level was made. At the international level, in connection with the diversification of the priority areas of attracting financial resources by the World Bank Group, there was a need to create separate organizations aimed at financing the priorities of sustainable development. In particular, one of such separate institutions is the International Finance Corporation (IFC). Accordingly, the article emphasizes the inclusive business model of IFC. In turn, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was created based on the combined efforts of a number of countries around the world, the European Union (EU) and the European Investment Bank (EIB). The article focuses on the strategic areas of activity and products of the EBRD. A guide to the application of international experience of sustainable financing in Ukraine was considered. Conclusions. Thus, the study of the initiatives of international organizations in the development of sustainable financing tools makes it possible to draw a conclusion about the role of the interaction of the state, business and international organizations in order to accumulate efforts to strengthen sustainable financing through the use of innovative tools, the creation of appropriate policies and the development of sustainable development roadmaps. In Ukraine, the policy of sustainable financing is based on the cooperation of the NBU and the IFC and is implemented through a road map, which is of an applied nature and is intended to monitor the business activity of the NBU in terms of the formation of predictable and stable regulatory foundations with the aim of spreading sustainable financing in the country with specific time norms and taking into account the need to ensure the consistency and adaptability of the banking system and non-bank financial institutions to changes.

Reverse Logistics of Packaging Waste under the Conditions of a Sustainable Circular Economy at the Level of the European Union States

The efficient use of natural resources and the quality of the environment are the main priorities of sustainable development. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the role of reverse logistics in the context of sustainable development, starting from the premise that it combines environmental and economic objectives and aims to minimize the wastage of resources through the reuse of products and packaging. In the current context, the circular economy must be approached by considering the methods of waste collection and reuse, with reverse logistics playing an essential role in creating environmental, economic, and social benefits. The growing population obviously determines the increase in the consumption of resources, which inevitably leads to the increasing generation of packaging and packaging waste. This study aimed to highlight the evolution of recycling rates at the level of the EU member states, starting from the stability objectives of the European Commission for the years 2025–2030. Starting from the Eurostat database, for the 27 member states of the European Union, regarding the recovery rate, recycle rate, and waste generation kg_per_capita related to the period of 2009–2020, we extrapolated the trends of the recycling rate of packaging for the period of 2021–2030 with the help of the Prophet model. Using the Prophet forecasting program, we identified states from the European Union that will meet the stability targets set by the European Commission for the years 2025 to 2030, considering the need to develop a circular economy.

Urban resilience and sustainability through and beyond crisis – evidence-based analysis and lessons learned from selected European cities

PurposeDespite striving for resilience and a sustainable urban future, European cities face a multitude of crisis caused by both natural and human-induced risks. This paper asks two key questions: How have cities experienced and managed crises situations they encountered? and What are the plans and actions for embedding sustainability at a local level within a clear decision-making structure? Hence, it aims to examine urban resilience in the context of urban crisis and the associated health concerns that took place because of crisis situations, while identifying sustainable urban development initiatives and strategies that were conceived and implemented beyond crisis.Design/methodology/approachAn evidence-based analytical approach is undertaken following two lines of inquiry. The first is case-based and identifies 11 cities that have experienced crisis situations and a further 10 cities that have instigated urban resilience strategies. The second is theme-based and engages with identifying strategies relevant to sustainable urban development at city and project levels. The outcomes of the two lines of inquiry are verified by mapping the lessons learned from the analysis to recent international guidance and a further co-visioning workshop with 6 experts.FindingsThe evidence-based analysis reveals key lessons which were classified under two primary types of findings: (a) lessons learned for a future urban resilience resulting from the 1st line of Inquiry (case-based) and (b) lessons learned for a future sustainable urban development resulting from the 2nd line of inquiry (theme-based). The verified lessons provide four areas that can be utilised as key priorities for future urban resilience and sustainable urban development including (a) Governance, effective communication, and decision making for city resilience and urban sustainability; (b) the social dimension of resilience and participatory practices for sustainable urban development; (c) from implicit strategies for health to positive impact on health; and (d) diversification of initiatives and localisation of sustainable development endeavours.Research limitations/implicationsThere is always limitation on what a bibliometrics analysis can offer in terms of the nature of evidence and the type of knowledge generated from the investigation. This limitation manifests in the fact that the analysis engages with the body of knowledge but not based on engaging physically or socially with the contexts within which the cases took place or through empirical investigations including systematic observations, focused interviews, and attitude surveys. While the study does not generate empirical findings, the rigour of the bibliometrics analysis offers a credible and reliable evidence on how cities experienced and managed crises situations and their current plans and priority actions for embedding and localising sustainable development measures.Practical implicationsThis research conveys significant implications for policy, practice, and action in that it crystalises the view that understanding urban resilience and sustainability, at the city or urban level, requires coupling the two. The findings offer a solid foundation for a more contextualised, evidence-based examination of urban resilience and sustainability during and beyond crisis. Highlighting urban and health challenges that emerged from experienced crisis situations, how these were managed and developing an understanding of sustainable urban development and local resilience strategies elucidate insights that can be adopted and acted upon by city councils and built environment practitioners.Originality/valueThe analysis provides comprehensive insights into urban resilience and sustainable urban development at both city and continental Europe scales in the form of key lessons that represent the first step towards developing rudiments for building a better urban future. Little is known about resilience and sustainability at these scales. The originality of this work lies in the breadth and depth for capturing an inclusive understanding of urban resilience and sustainable urban development based on systematic inquiry and scrutinising the body of knowledge emerged over the past 2 decades.

ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE: WHERE WE ARE NOW AND WHERE WE WILL BE IN TWO OR THREE DECADES. &lt;i&gt;GLOBAL TRENDS&lt;/i&gt;

The article is the first of the two contributions based upon the authors’ studies and reports provided to Horizon-2040. The latter is a project organized by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives serving a platform for strategic dialogue to determine the role and position of Russia in the international arena in 2040 and produce scenarios for the national long-term development trends in the key areas, environment and climate inclusive. The current state of the global environmental and climate change issues is contemplated. Also considered is dynamics of these issues within the past 50 years in terms of the global sustainable development priorities. Aqualitative forecast of the state and expected developments in coping with the issues above by 2040 is introduced. The key challenges associated with the World Ocean, land waters, air quality, environmental situation in the cities, climate and biodiversity issues are briefly discussed. The priority strategic role of biodiversity in sustainable development of the world community and economy within the long term perspective is substantiated. Emphasized arwpoor understanding and under-evaluation of adaptation policy role in the global climate agenda. Distinguished are the four types of key events according to their contribution to the homo ecologicus formation. Also disclosed are the four key factors precipitating the existing poor situation in environmental and climate policy areas and tendencies of their further deterioration which (factors) involve public awareness, value system and human activity attitudes.