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Bank lending and environmental quality in Gulf Cooperation Council countries

To achieve economies with net-zero carbon emissions, it is essential to develop a robust green financial intermediary channel. This study seeks empirical evidence on how domestic bank lending to sovereign and private sectors in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries impacts carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. We employ PMG-ARDL model to panel data comprising six countries in GCC over twenty years for carbon dioxide emissions and nineteen years for greenhouse gas emissions. Our findings reveal a long-term positive impact of both bank lending variables on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, lending to the government shows a negative short-term effect on greenhouse gas emissions. The cross-country results demonstrate the presence of a long-run effect of explanatory variables on both types of emissions, except for greenhouse gas in Saudi Arabia. The sort-term impact of the explanatory variables on carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions is quite diverse. Not only do these effects differ across countries, but some variables have opposing effects on the two types of emissions within a single country. The findings of this study present a new perspective for GCC economies: neglecting total greenhouse gas emissions and concentrating solely on carbon dioxide emissions means missing critical information for devising effective strategies to combat threats of environmental degradation and achieve net-zero goals.

The risk effects of corporate digitalization: exacerbate or mitigate?

This study elaborates on the risk effects of corporate digital transformation (CDT). Using the ratio of added value of digital assets to total intangible assets as a measure of CDT, this study overall reveals an inverse relationship between CDT and revenue volatility, even after employing a range of technical techniques to address potential endogeneity. Heterogeneity analysis highlights that the firms with small size, high capital intensity, and high agency costs benefit more from CDT. It also reveals that advancing information infrastructure, intellectual property protection, and digital taxation enhances the effectiveness of CDT. Mechanism analysis uncovers that CDT not only enhances financial advantages such as bolstering core business and mitigating non-business risks but also fosters non-financial advantages like improving corporate governance and ESG performance. Further inquiries into the side effects of CDT and the dynamics of revenue volatility indicate that CDT might compromise cash flow availability. Excessive digital investments exacerbate operating risks. Importantly, the reduction in operating risk associated with CDT does not sacrifice the potential for enhanced company performance; rather, it appears to augment the value of real options.

Sustainable supply chain management practices and performance: The moderating effect of stakeholder pressure

Currently, sustainable supply chain management practices have become an important strategy for firms to improve performance and gain competitive advantage. However, there is a current debate over the performance outcomes of sustainable supply chain management practices. Additionally, the role of stakeholder pressure is frequently overlooked. Drawing on Natural Resources-Based View and Stakeholder Theory, this study aims to elucidate the ambiguous connection between sustainable supply management, sustainable process management, stakeholder pressure and performance, and investigate the mediation role of sustainable process management and the moderation effect of stakeholder pressure. Our analysis, based on data collected from 235 Chinese manufacturing firms, reveals significant insights. First, stakeholder pressure positively moderates the relationship between sustainable process management and performance, while negatively moderates the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. Second, sustainable process management has a complete mediation effect on the relationship between sustainable supply management and performance. The conclusion not only explains the inconsistent relationship between sustainable supply chain management practice and performance, but also reveals clearly the relationship between sustainable supply management and sustainable process management. Besides, it also highlights the difference in performance outcomes of sustainable supply management and sustainable process management under stakeholder pressures, and has valuable guidance to the practice of sustainable supply chain management in Chinese manufacturing firms.

Evaluation of public health and economic impacts of dietary salt reduction initiatives on social security expenditures for cardiovascular disease control in Japan

Japan has undertaken extensive efforts to reduce dietary salt intake and prevent cardiovascular diseases. Although salt consumption has decreased over time, levels remain high, highlighting the need for continued promotion of low-salt food products through collaboration among government bodies, the food industry, academia, and other stakeholders. Effective policy development requires an environment that enables stakeholders to apply scientific evidence on the cost-effectiveness of salt reduction strategies. Our ongoing research focuses on developing simulation models to predict future public health and economic impacts, supporting the establishment of voluntary targets and evidence-based approaches. These strategies aim to lower salt intake, enhance health outcomes, and manage social security expenditures, thereby fostering sustainable development in an aging society.

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation technologies for food, energy and water

Solar-driven interfacial evaporation technologies use solar energy to heat materials that drive water evaporation. These technologies are versatile and do not require electricity, which enables their potential application across the food, energy and water nexus. In this Review, we assess the potential of solar-driven interfacial evaporation technologies in food, energy and clean-water production, in wastewater treatment, and in resource recovery. Interfacial evaporation technologies can produce up to 5.3 l m–2 h−1 of drinking water using sunlight as the energy source. Systems designed for food production in coastal regions desalinate water to irrigate crops or wash contaminated soils. Technologies are being developed to simultaneously produce both clean energy and water through interfacial evaporation and have reached up to 204 W m–2 for electricity and 2.5 l m–2 h–1 for water in separate systems. Other solar evaporation approaches or combinations of approaches could potentially use the full solar spectrum to generate multiple products (such as water, food, electricity, heating or cooling, and/or fuels). In the future, solar evaporation technologies could aid in food, energy and water provision in low-resource or rural settings that lack reliable access to these essentials, but the systems must first undergo rigorous, scaled-up field testing to understand their performance, stability and competitiveness.

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