Sustainable Development Targets Research Articles

Mapping of FinTech Ecosystem to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Saudi Arabia’s Landscape

Financial technology (FinTech) has become an indispensable part of most of the business infrastructure around the world. The FinTech ecosystem provides this solution by providing a suitable environment for all financial techno services to synergize. This paper explores the relationship between FinTech programs in Saudi Arabia and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It highlights how these financial technology initiatives contribute to various SDGs by providing innovative solutions that enhance financial inclusion, improve access to essential services, and foster economic growth. Specifically, the study identifies connections between FinTech programs and SDG goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 5 (Gender Equality), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Through these linkages, this paper demonstrates the role of FinTech in promoting sustainable development and supporting national and global efforts to achieve these crucial objectives. Secondary data were collected from published reports, institutional and governmental websites, official portals, and research papers focusing on the companies operating in Saudi Arabia. It was found that FinTech in Saudi Arabia is addressing SDGs goals 1, 2, 5, 8 and 17. This paper further endeavors to map specific SDG indicators to the products and services provided by FinTech companies in Saudi Arabia. By doing so, it seeks to identify the areas where these technological solutions directly support the achievement of sustainable development targets. This comprehensive analysis is intended to be a valuable resource for institutions and policymakers in the FinTech industry. It provides insights into how these companies can align their offerings more closely with the SDG framework, thereby addressing any existing gaps. The findings aim to aid in the global agenda of eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable development opportunities by leveraging FinTech innovations.

Bibliometric Trends and Insights into the Potential of Maize (Zea mays) under the Framework of Conservation Agriculture

In spite of the detrimental effects of climate change and decreasing resource efficiency, maize farming is essential to the world’s food and nutritional security. With regard to sustainable maize farming in this environment, conservation agriculture (CA) offers a framework that holds promise in terms of low soil disturbance, perennial soil cover, and sustainable crop rotation. In order to acquire more profound information on the research advancements and publication patterns related to maize under CA scenarios, a bibliometric analysis was conducted. This involved utilizing René Descartes’s Discourse Framework to extract and screen 2587 documents spanning the years 2001 to 2023 from the Dimensions.ai database. The mapping showed that different stakeholders were becoming more interested in maize research under various CA pathways, with a greater emphasis on reaching the second sustainable development target, or “zero hunger”. The most influential journals were “Soil and Tillage Research” and “Field Crops Research”, with 131 and 85 papers with 6861 and 6186 citations, respectively. The performance analysis found “Christian L. Thierfelder” and “Mangi Lal Jat” as the eminent researchers in the areas of maize research under CA. Thus, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) were identified as the important institutions in conducting research pertaining to maize under CA systems, while the United States, India, and Mexico emerged as prominent countries with notable collaboration efforts for imparting research under the given scenarios. Three thematic clusters delineating keywords from three distinct sections—key drivers, objectives, and methodology—were identified through co-word analysis using word clouds, tree maps, and thematic networking of the keywords from the abstract and titles of screened publications. These thematic clusters highlighted the growing emphasis on region-specific studies under CA, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and the Indo-Gangetic plain, to enhance the resilience of the agri-food system. Therefore, mapping maize’s potentialities within the CA framework has revealed the field’s dynamic nature and offers insightful information to researchers and policymakers that could help them plan future studies and cooperative initiatives aimed at boosting the productivity and sustainability of maize-based systems under the CA framework.

Variability in Heating Demand Predictions: A Comparative Study of PHPP and Mc001-2022 in Existing Residential Buildings

The construction industry is a key driver of environmental change due to its extensive use of resources and high emissions, thus significantly burdening global efforts towards sustainable development targets. A large portion of the environmental footprint of buildings results from the energy required to sustain indoor comfort levels. Thus, enhancing the energy efficiency of existing buildings becomes critical in reducing their environmental impact. This study explores the impact of thermal performance improvements on the heating demand, employing numerical modeling and two energy performance methodologies, PHPP and Mc001-2022, across various climatic datasets and case studies in Romania. The results show substantial variability in heating demand predictions: Mc001-2022 predicts up to 27.2% higher continuous heating demands and 21.0% higher intermittent demands compared to PHPP in one case study. In the second case study, the differences range from 8.1% higher to 6.9% lower for continuous heating and from 3.3% higher to 9.9% lower for intermittent heating, depending on the scenario. These findings underscore the importance of the methodological choice and localized climatic data in heating demand assessments, highlighting the need for a tailored, context-specific approach to energy performance assessment, integrating multiple energy efficiency measures suited to the unique characteristics of each building.

One Step Forward, How Many Steps Back? Benchmarking the US Covid-19 Pandemic Response Against United Nations Sustainable Development Target 3.3

In 2015, the United Nations adopted 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), mapping out specific targets to work toward in order to achieve worldwide peace and prosperity. SDG 3 promotes healthy living, while target 3.3 strives to end epidemics of various infectious diseases. In this project, I examine how the Covid-19 outbreak impacted the US’s progress toward SDG target 3.3, analyzing both academic literature and government documents in the form of a literature review. I discuss trends and flaws in the US pandemic response, briefly contrasting US containment measures with Singapore’s, before examining the pandemic’s effects on incidence rates and service outcomes for two communicable diseases — tuberculosis and HIV. Although a lack of internal and external coordination, the federalist structure of the US government, inflexible funding, and politicization of infectious disease control prevented the CDC from responding to the pandemic effectively, tuberculosis incidence rates dropped in 2020 due to less face-to-face contact and possible missed diagnoses, while HIV services experienced a rebound in late 2020 due to self test, telehealth, and antiretroviral therapy home delivery services. While Covid-19 did not dismantle the US’s progress toward UN SDG target 3.3, greater communication, deeper public understanding, and an ability to expect the unexpected would accelerate the US’s movement toward effective management of communicable diseases.

Green Human Resource Management and Organizational Performance: Structural Equation Model Evidence from Nekemte Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia

Organizations have been more environmentally conscious in recent years, particularly since the sustainable development target was established worldwide. Consequently, scholars' attention has been drawn to the connection between green human resource management (GHRM) and organizational performance. This study aims to investigate the relationship between organizational performance and green human resource management at Nekemte Comprehensive Specialized Hospital (NCSH), a public hospital located in Nekemte City, east Wallagga zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. Data was gathered using a closed-ended, five-point Likert questionnaire survey in order to meet the study's goals. All 223 questionnaire were received and analyzed using the structural equation modeling (SEM) method. Convergent and discriminant validity tests, as well as construct and composite reliability, were performed on the specified SEM model. The outcome of these tests showed that the SEM model's validity and reliability had been attained. Further, the SEM was checked for model fit indices and it was assured that the model is fit in all aspects. The SEM results revealed positive and significant effects of green reward and compensation (GRC) with a path coefficient of 0.41 (P<0.05) whereas green performance management and appraisal (GPMA) with a path coefficient of 0.48 (P<0.05) on organizational performance (OP) of Nekemte comprehensive specialized hospital. The structural model further revealed that green training and development (GTD) and green reward and compensation (GRC) have a significant effect on green performance management and appraisal (GPMA) with an estimated path coefficient of 0.49 (P<0.05) and 0.52 (P<0.05, respectively. The effect size analysis results indicated that GRC has the largest effect on organizational performance with an estimated path coefficient of 0.55 while GPMA has appeared with an estimated coefficient of 0.45 revealing a medium effect on OP. The result from the mediation analysis has indicated that GPMA has fully mediated between GTD and OP while it partially mediated between GRC and OP. From the econometric results, it is concluded that GHRM practices are positively contributing to the performance of the organization. The overall conclusion of the study is that there are limited GRHM practices that positively contribute to the performance of the hospital. The policy implication is that better organizational performance of the hospital demands the continuous effort of putting GRHM practices at the center of the organizational goal. Further, the dual contribution of GRC and the dual advantage of GPMA need to be well exploited.

Cultural and Natural Heritage Concerns and Cost of Equity: Case of Global Cement and Cement-Related Industries

In recent business landscape, term of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) is interesting for many investors who concern on that. By implementing SDGs and ESG, investors and companies are expect to participate in the world sustainable development target. One of the SDG metric is strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage. With the 75 samples of cement and cement-related company across the world, this thesis delves into the nuanced of relationship between cultural and natural heritage issues and its cost of equity. Recognizing the profound impact of cultural and natural heritage concerns on corporate reputation, social license to operate, as well investor’s perception, this research endeavors to elucidate the intricate interplay between these variables through research approach encompassing quantitative methodologies. The result of this research is showing that cultural and natural heritage issue is negatively correlate to the cost of equity which means the better the cultural and natural heritage score of a company, the lower its cost of equity among its peers. The regression analysis result in P-Value 0.016; coefficient -6.12 for cultural and natural heritage index impact to cost of equity (in market model) and in P-Value 0.033; coefficient -5.30 for cultural and natural heritage index impact to cost of equity (in Bloomberg CAPM), which considered significant. Implication of these finding are that cultural and natural heritage issue can be a threat for the company image as well can influence various aspects of company activities, if it is not well managed. Therefore, companies should start concern on any cultural and natural heritage since it has significant implication for investor’s decision and perception which can be depicted in its each cost of equity.

Waste Management of Wind Turbine Blades: A Comprehensive Review on Available Recycling Technologies with A Focus on Overcoming Potential Environmental Hazards Caused by Microplastic Production

The 2020 targets for sustainable development and circular economy encourage global leaders and countries to legislate laws and policies on several critical hot topics to prevent further global warming: (1) the increased utilization of renewable electrical power (wind turbine implants, as an example); (2) waste transformation into high-added-value materials based on the European Green Deal for energy transition; and (3) material and energy recovery and circularity. Accordingly, scholars and researchers have predicted that, hopefully, installed wind power capacity is going to increase dramatically by 2050. However, our ecosystem will have to face and deal with an enormous amount of decommissioned turbine blades. The disposal of these wastes via conventional methods could not only raise the possibility of microplastic formation, but could also boost the probability of environmental issues such as air pollution, soil, water contamination, etc. Moreover, these hazards will endanger wildlife and humans. As a result, the waste management of these retired blades composed of multi-lateral composite materials through a sustainable, effective, and feasible single/or hybrid process is necessary. This review aims to summarize all of the information about turbines, introduce all the various recycling pathways used for their blades, and provide a comparative analysis of these methods as well. In addition, the paper defines the possibility of microplastic formation from this waste (especially end-of-life turbine blade scraps), points out potential risks for the Earth, and suggests actions to inhibit their build-up and to keep the environment safe.

Metabarcoding advances agricultural invertebrate biomonitoring by enhancing resolution, increasing throughput and facilitating network inference

Abstract Biomonitoring of agriculturally important insects is increasingly vital given our need to understand: (a) the severity of impacts by pests and pathogens on crop yield and health and (b) the impact of environmental change and land management on insects, in line with sustainable development and global conservation targets. Traditional entomological traps remain an important part of the biomonitoring toolbox, but sample processing is laborious and introduces latency, and accuracy can be variable. The integration of molecular techniques such as environmental DNA and DNA metabarcoding into insect biomonitoring has gained increasing attention, but the advantages of doing so, the kind of data this can generate, and how easily and effectively molecular analyses can be integrated with the diverse types of entomological traps currently used remains relatively unclear. In this review, we examine how combining DNA metabarcoding with a range of conventional and unconventional entomological sampling techniques can advance biomonitoring in a way that is useful to researchers and practitioners. We highlight some of the key challenges and how to mitigate them, using examples of its integration with different sampling methods from the literature (e.g., interception, pitfall and sticky traps) to demonstrate efficacy and suitability. We discuss how metabarcoding data can be used to infer ecological networks, emphasizing the importance of this as a framework for understanding species interactions and ecosystem functioning for more effective and descriptive biomonitoring. Finally, future advances in biomonitoring are highlighted, alongside recommendations of best practice for researchers both new to and experienced in invertebrate biomonitoring with metabarcoding.

Research on the critical role of clean energy for dual carbon targets

Dual-carbon targets typically refer to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to almost zero in order to address the challenges of climate change and global warming. Achieving the dual-carbon goal means taking significant steps to reduce carbon emissions, promoting the adoption of clean energy, improving energy efficiency, and adopting sustainable development practices to mitigate the effects of climate change. This study aims to assess the critical role of clean energy in achieving the dual carbon goals. This study is organized around the concept of dual carbon goals. These goals involve an integrated approach to combating climate change by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions to near-zero levels. The main objective is to address the challenges posed by climate change and global warming. This thesis will explore various strategies and approaches to achieve emission reductions. Clean energy plays a pivotal role in achieving the dual-carbon goal. The study focuses on the importance of clean energy sources such as renewable energy (e.g., wind, solar) in reducing carbon emissions. Sustainable development practices are mentioned as part of the approach to mitigating the effects of climate change. This suggests that the study could also explore the wider implications of dual carbon targets for sustainable development. This study used literature and descriptive research methods, relying on existing data, literature, and descriptive analysis to assess the current role of clean energy and how dual carbon targets could be achieved in the future.

Global Transformations: Trends towards Increasing Instability and Sustainable Development Drivers in Current Situation

The ongoing global transformations and the high turbulence of global processes call into question sustainability of development of most countries, make it necessary to identify factors leading to instability and search for drivers of sustainable development in current situation. The conducted research allowed us to determine that the trends towards increasing instability are mainly determined by the processes of deglobalization, the dominance of maximizing production and consumption ideas, increasing social inequality, uneven distribution of resources between the environmental, social, and economic components of sustainable development, human violation of the laws of biosphere development, insufficient environmental protection measures, the consequences of recent crises, international conflicts, disadvantages of management. The considered factors of instability growth, the strengthening of their influence and the associated risks led to setting a new task: to determine what can be a driver of stability in modern difficult situation. Our study shows that positive impulses for sustainable development include: the dissemination of ideas and steps towards the implementation of the green economy; the establishment of specific deadlines for achieving targets of sustainable development by many countries; the development of technological sovereignty of countries based on a green worldview; the implementation of the concept of sustainable development not only by governments, but also at the micro level — by companies; the emergence of new financial instruments, in particular, green and social bonds to attract capital and invest in projects with environmental and social benefits; advances in the taxonomy of green finance. An important result of the study is the conclusion that despite the possibility of deceleration in certain periods, sustainable development is a long-term trend in the functioning of our civilization and further research should be aimed at improving management decisions to support it in the short and long term.

Strategy For Achieving SDGs Targets In Bone Bolango Regency Through The SWOT Approach

Bone Bolango Regency is part of the Tomini Bay area which is included in the sustainable development targets based on the SDGs achievement targets. This research aims to determine the strategy for achieving SDGs which will be used as the basis for economic development in Bone Bolango Regency. The research is qualitative research that uses respondents from related agencies who are determined based on purposive sampling. There were 5 respondents who were willing and were representatives of related agencies in Bone Bolango Regency. Data analysis uses SWOT analysis based on data obtained through questionnaires. The research results show that regulatory support (0.432) and priority of the Regional Medium Term Development Plan (0.359) are strength factors, while the weakness factor is institutional support (0.120). The opportunity factor is budget support (.045), while the threat factor is partnership support (0.043), which is still very limited. The SWOT factors found in Bone Bolango district are the basis used to develop strategies for achieving SDGs. The strategy for achieving SDGs indicator targets is based on factors found in Bone Bolango Regency, sorted based on a priority scale, namely regulatory support, RPJMD priorities, institutional support, budget support and partnerships.

Unveiling Digital Transformation: A Catalyst for Enhancing Food Security and Achieving Sustainable Development Goals at the European Union Level.

The digital revolution is reshaping various aspects of society, including having a profound impact on food security and the advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study investigates the relationship between digital transformation, quantified through the components of the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI), and SDGs related to food (SDG1, SDG2, SDG3, and SDG10), along with the overall SDG Index score. The data used for investigation are sourced from reports issued by the European Commission concerning DESI, as well as the SDG reports for the period from 2017 to 2022. The paper elucidates how different components of digitalization, such as connectivity, digital skills, internet usage, and digital public services, influence the attainment of food security objectives and broader sustainable development targets using structural equation modeling and cluster analysis. The findings underscore the pivotal role of digital technologies in enhancing poverty alleviation, health and well-being, and, in particular, mitigating inequality. This study contributes to understanding the complex relationship between digital transformation and food security, offering insights for policymakers, practitioners, and stakeholders aiming to leverage technology for advancing SDGs and fostering a more equitable and sustainable future.

Balancing protection and production in ocean conservation

AbstractWith the acceleration of the global biodiversity and climate crises, the need to protect and sustainably manage ocean resources has never been greater. However, the science needed to integrate ocean protection (through marine protected areas and OECMs) and sustainable production in the blue economy (particularly pelagic fisheries) remains underdeveloped and contested. The scientific divide and the knowledge gaps still remaining have created serious real-world challenges for practitioners seeking to reconcile protection and production approaches, and is hindering progress in achieving global conservation targets. Here, we identify the vital science necessary to bring together the “twin pillars” of protection and production, integrating mutually reinforcing meaningful protections at scale, while also driving management of production systems to internationally accepted sustainability standards. The research community must rapidly develop this new horizon of ocean science – particularly in pelagic ecosystems - to aid countries and practitioners in achieving global conservation and sustainable development targets.

Artificial intelligence for SDG 4 of the 2030 agenda: Transforming education to achieve quality, equality, and inclusion

The objective of this article is to discuss the possibility of using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance teaching practices and pedagogical support to improve the quality of education provided to young people in elementary and secondary schooling. This issue is linked to the global perspective of a shortage of teachers, which directly affects the Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), concerning the enhancement of education quality as a target for global sustainable development. From this viewpoint, the potential use of AI may also relate to the improvement of educational quality and the reduction of social inequalities, yielding indirect effects on other sustainable development goals. As a method, we intend to conduct an extensive theoretical discussion addressing the challenges for teacher education and work worldwide, utilizing existing data from databases such as UNESCO, the UN, and the OECD, among others. In addition to data on teachers, we plan to analyze the potential for creating an artificial intelligence, based on existing ones but trained for the specific contexts of each country’s educational system. The goal is to examine the potential for formatting artificial intelligence to provide pedagogical support for teachers, such as: grading of objective and discursive assessments, individualized intelligent tutoring, analysis of students’ individual pedagogical development, preparation of individual student diagnoses, suggestions of specific pedagogical actions based on curricula and materials used, and all other pedagogical actions that support teachers in their educational journey. This work was funded by CAPES, CNPq and FAPEMIG.

Understanding key factors for strengthening Nepal’s healthcare needs: health systems perspectives

Background Nepal’s health policy environment and health-care delivery system has changed over the last 25 years, during which it witnessed a significant progress in improving citizens’ access to healthcare services. However, a combination of factors intrinsic to the nation continue to influence health service delivery producing variable health outcomes. Given the nation’s target towards achieving universal health coverage and sustainable development targets, there is a need to review and understand the functioning of Nepal’s health system, its strengths, challenges, and opportunities. The review aims to explore the key health system factors influencing health services and healthcare needs, and forge actionable recommendations for the future. # Methods The review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for identifying the relevant literature between 2001 and 2023. A total of 300 articles were obtained from the initial search, out of which 42 full text articles were selected for an in-depth review. The literature was analysed to identify the broad themes relevant to Nepal’s health system, and the findings were synthesized narratively under each theme. # Results The review highlights various factors influencing health services and healthcare needs by describing the historical development of Nepal’s healthcare delivery system, its current scenario, health expenditure, health system challenges and opportunities ahead. The evolution of Nepal’s health system has been both significant and responsive. # Conclusions The change in the governance structure and adoption of primary healthcare approach present the nation with ample opportunities to further the scope of the nation’s existing health sector initiatives and outcomes.

STRATEGIC CONTROLLING TOOLS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF UKRAINIAN AGRICULTURAL COMPANIES

The subject of the study is the system of strategic control in an organisation, which is necessary for agri-food companies in the context of implementing the principles of sustainable development. Methodology. The following economic research methods were used in the study: monographic method (when studying scientific sources and reviewing thematic literature; studying the directions of sustainable development of business entities in the agri-food sector of Ukraine); scientific abstraction and generalisation (when studying various methodological approaches to determining the content of controlling); abstract and logical method (when determining the role and place of strategic controlling in the management system of agri-food companies, formulating conclusions based on the results of the study); methods of analysis and synthesis (when substantiating a set of tools for strategic controlling by elements of its system). The aim of the study is to supplement the methodological framework of the strategic controlling system for managing companies in the agri-food sector. Results. Controlling is an important management function, and its effectiveness determines the success of an organisation in achieving its goals and objectives. In modern conditions, strategic controlling can be combined with two main approaches – as a management philosophy and as a management function and mechanism. The system of strategic controlling is determined by a set of complex factors of the external and internal environment that determine the possibility of achieving the long-term goals and objectives. The implementation of sustainable development goals and objectives by agri-food companies creates new requirements for the strategic controlling system, the main of which are transparency, flexibility, inclusiveness, openness and efficiency. In order to successfully achieve the planned targets of sustainable development, the strategic controlling system should use a set of tools that is determined by the nature and effect of the relevant elements. It is proposed to use benchmarking, ABC-analysis, SWOT-analysis, PESTEL-analysis, methods of expert evaluation, CVP-analysis, financial analysis, network graphs and methods of expert forecasting as the main tools for strategic controlling of agri-food companies.

Factors influencing inequality in government health expenditures within African regional economic communities

BackgroundThe unequal distribution of government health spending within African regional economic groupings is a significant barrier to achieving Universal Health Coverage and reaching health-related Sustainable Development targets. It also hampers the progress toward achieving the African Union’s vision of an integrated and prosperous Africa, free of its heavy disease burden. Based on panel data from 36 countries nested into eight Regional Economic Communities (RECs), this study probes the effects of countries' macro-level factors on government health expenditure disparities within eight regional economic communities from 2000 to 2019.MethodWe use the multilevel linear mixed-effect method to show whether countries' trade gains, life expectancy at birth, poverty, urbanization, information and communication technology, and population aging worsen or reduce the differences for two government health expenditure indicators.ResultsThe insignificant effect of GDP per capita suggests that in most regional economic groupings, the health sector is still not considered a high-priority sector regarding overall government expenditures. Countries' poverty levels and urbanization increase the domestic general government health expenditure disparities as a percentage of general government expenditure within the regional groupings. However, trade gains and ICT diffusion reduce these disparities. Furthermore, the results reveal that external health expenditure per capita and life expectancy at birth positively impact within-regional inequalities in the domestic general government health expenditure per capita. In contrast, GDP per capita and trade gains tend to reduce them.ConclusionsThis study enriches the research on the determinants of government health expenditure inequality in Africa. Policies that can spur growth in trade and ICT access should be encouraged. Countries should also make more efforts to reduce poverty. Governments should also develop policies promoting economic growth and planned urbanization.

أثر استخدام الخدمات المصرفية الإلكترونية عبر الهاتف النقال لتحقيق الشمول المالي وانعكاساتها على التنمية المستدامة

The study aimed to investigate the impact of using mobile banking services through mobile phones on achieving financial inclusion and its implications for sustainable development. The descriptive analytical approach was employed and a questionnaire was used as a data collection tool from 439)) users of mobile banking services (Mobile Money) at the Cooperative and Agricultural Credit Bank. The data was statistically analyzed using multiple regression analysis. The results showed the significance of the study's multiple models in representing the relationship between the independent variable (use of mobile banking services), the intermediate variable (financial inclusion) and the dependent variable (sustainable development). The findings revealed that customers' use of mobile banking services has a positive effect on achieving financial inclusion and positively reflects on sustainable development as well. The study's model explained about 65% of the variance in sustainable development goals. It was found that there is a significant positive relationship between all the variables. To assess the strength of relationships in the assumed model, a statistical analysis of the Survey data was done according to the structural equation model (SEM) using the Analysis Moment of Structures program (AMOS) supported by the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program (SPSS). The study recommended enhancing cooperation between banks and relevant entities to expand financial inclusion and achieve sustainable development. In conclusion, the study provided empirical evidence on the role of mobile banking in promoting financial inclusion and its contributions towards realizing sustainable development targets.

Causal analysis of Canada’s environment-growth nexus for inclusive development metrics

Little is known about the relevance of alternative measures of growth in environmental and developmental economic analyses. In Canada, for example, no literature exists on whether there is a causal link between the level of environmental performance and alternative measures of economic progress (which are argued to better capture the overall economic wellbeing than the gross domestic product—GDP). As environmental policies may relate to overall economic wellbeing, we opine that understanding overall economic progress is essential for achieving sustainable development and emissions reduction targets. This paper addresses a knowledge gap by assessing the causal links and directions between Canada’s national-level greenhouse gas emissions (GHG—as an indicator of environmental performance) and three alternative measures of economic growth, namely, gross national disposable income (GNDI), human development index (HDI), and index of economic freedom (IEF); from 1995 to 2019. Our results indicate that causality exists between Canada’s GHG and the alternative growth measures. This implies that Canada’s GNDI, HDI, and IEF may be useful and complementary to GDP in forecasting the national-level total GHG emissions. The research provides insights to further consider the role of overall economic wellbeing in the quest for sustainable, lower-emissions, economic development in Canada and by extension in other nations.

Tripartite relationship of urban planning, city growth, and health for sustainable development in Akure, Nigeria

We live in an urban planet. As the world continues to urbanize, urban development that support the health and wellbeing of city dwellers is far more important than ever before to achieve sustainable development targets. This study explores the complex relationship among urban planning, city growth, and health as critical drivers of sustainable development in the rapidly growing nodal city of Akure, Nigeria. The study provides a four-decade spatio-temporal model of urban Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in Akure between the years 1984 and 2023 from acquired Landsat satellite imageries. The result shows more than 20% net change increase in developed LULC classes between the study years. A strong positive correlation exists between the years covered in the analyses and urban development (r = 0.93, p = 0.002), and a strong negative relationship with the forest land use (r = −0.94, p = 0.002) with potential debilitating impacts on residents’ health, green infrastructures and the city’s sustainability in the future. Furthermore, results of key informant interviews (KIIs) of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD) in Akure, Ondo State, unveil various views on the “place of health” in urban planning practices in Akure. A lack of synergy between urban planners and public health practitioners in the city and limiting scope of functions of urban planning on the impact of health in Akure were observed. Thus, we recommend the integration of a sustainable urban planning approach as a guide to manage the city.