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Topic Review
Benefits of Non-Commercial Urban Agricultural Practices
Urban agriculture refers to any type of activity located within or around a city designed to provide ecosystem services. Given the rapid population growth and urbanization, urban agriculture is seen as a potential alternative route to a more sustainable urban food system. Indeed, it has multiple functions, contributing to a variety of outcomes associated with localized urban food systems, including food access, food and agriculture education, community building, and civic engagement. Moreover, implementing non-commercial urban agricultural practices has multifaced social, economic, and environmental benefits, such as improving people’s health, reducing expenditure on food and creating sustainable cities, highlighting the need to recognize the multifaceted role of non-commercial urban agricultural practices in promoting a more sustainable lifestyle and strengthening local communities and engagement.
  • 529
  • 04 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Decarbonisation Policies in Residential Sector and Energy Poverty
 The current study investigates the impact of decarbonisation policies on the EU’s building stock, with a specific focus on Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS), the new Emissions Trading System (ETS2) for buildings, and the phase-out of fossil heating systems.
  • 514
  • 27 Jul 2023
Topic Review
DL-SLICER
A novel artificial intelligence (AI)-driven city classification method which provides a homogeneous and unbiased result, employing visual and publicly accessible data focusing on factual circumstances and complex visual causalities. It offers a new perspective in the research domain by developing a deep learning (DL) tool that analyzes visual information from city satellite image patches.
  • 497
  • 05 Mar 2024
Topic Review
Carbon Footprint Reduction through Modern Supply-Chain Measures
The worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for smart cities and communities focus significant attention on air quality and climate change. Technology and management can reduce fossil fuel dependence in smart cities’ energy supply chains (SC). A sustainable smart city and reduced carbon emissions require coordinated technology and management with appropriate infrastructure. 
  • 490
  • 01 Dec 2023
Topic Review
Decision Support Systems Based on Gaseous Emissions
To achieve national and global air quality and climate change objectives, the agricultural sector increasingly requires dependable decision support tools for gaseous emissions at the farm level. While most decision support systems (DSSs) provide information for facilitating their use, only four are suitable for inexperienced users, and stakeholder participation in DSS development is infrequent. The dominant methodology for farm-level greenhouse gas (GHG) estimation is IPCC 2006, with quantitative models primarily used for indicators’ assessment. Scenario and contribution analyses are the prevailing decision-support approaches. Soil, crop, and fertilizer types are the most implemented non-livestock-related inputs, while climate- and feed-related costs are the least required. All DSSs assess farm-level mitigation measures, but less than half offer sustainability consultation. These tools promote environmental sustainability by evaluating mitigation strategies, disseminating farm sustainability information, and guiding sustainable farm management. Yet, challenges such as disparate estimation methods, result variations, comparison difficulties, usability concerns, steep learning curves, the lack of automation, the necessity for multiple tools, the limited integration of the results, and changing regulations hinder their wider adoption.
  • 484
  • 13 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Flow Experiments of CO2 in Complex Pore Structures
To prevent CO2 leakage and ensure the safety of long-term CO2 storage, it is essential to investigate the flow mechanism of CO2 in complex pore structures at the pore scale. 
  • 482
  • 12 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Polyacrylamide Polymer Membrane Used for CO2 Post-Combustion Capture
The membrane gas-capture process has been examined for several separation purposes, such as air separation, hydrogen purification, and carbon-capture methods. For the membrane CO2 removal process, several membrane materials have been studied and enhanced to meet carbon dioxide separation standards, like molecular sieves, fixed-site carriers (FSC), inorganic, and polymeric membranes.
  • 474
  • 09 Jan 2024
Topic Review
Sustainable Solutions for Small/Medium Ports
Ports are under increased pressure to reduce their negative climate and environmental impacts. Their roles and functions in transportation systems and the economy make them a key industry in promoting sustainability. In particular, small- and medium-sized ports (SMSPs) should serve as lighthouses or flagships of environmental and digital transformation, allowing access to remote locations and integrating peripheral regions. 
  • 464
  • 21 Sep 2023
Topic Review
Living on Coast in Harmony with Natural Processes
The coastal zone is a fascinating place that comprises the interface between sea and land. This interface, which is both very dynamic and sensitive, has been affected by strong urban and industrial pressures, and an increase in both traffic and recreational uses, leading to the deterioration of natural habitats and the growing instability of residential areas. Added to this disruption is ongoing climate change, which will lead to rising sea levels and increased wave action. Another problem we are increasingly concerned about is ocean pollution, which has been one of the main causes of threats to deep-water coral reef areas. The main sources of pollution include oil spills and offshore oil drilling. The effects of pollution caused by oil spills can not only seriously affect the global environmental balance of our planet but can also, on a different scale, seriously affect the economy of countries whose main resources depend heavily on the sea. Wave energy has the potential to alleviate the world's dependence on depleting fossil energy resources. With regard to coastal protection, the development of ecological solutions to preserve ecosystems and address coastal processes as an alternative to traditional coastal protection structures (seawalls, groins and breakwaters) is becoming increasingly important. These structures, generally referred to as passive measures, are usually built to alter the effects of sea waves, currents and the movement of sand along the coastline, with the aim of protecting beaches, ports and harbors. 
  • 454
  • 10 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Uncommon Production of the World
The socio-spatiality of capitalist modernity is the embodiment of pressures to eliminate common, spatially adapted institutions in the name of an allegedly more rational world demarcated by the prospect of having everything private and predisposed to be exploited. The vital element of these pressures to legitimise economic inequalities to extract more and more value from labour and nature is the phenomenon of uncommoning. This article has several interconnected goals, especially, an interpretation of the meaning and practices of uncommoningmaking use of classical, contemporary, and decolonial academic and grey literature—and a critical reflection on the frontiers of the modern world, where uncommoning is clearly the key socio-spatial driving force underpinning a deceitful democracy and providing justification for the encroachment of private properties upon the commons. This focus on the commons facilitates and radicalises the comprehension of how societies and communities deal with the allocation, use, and preservation of cherished elements of their material and immaterial reality. It can be constructively reached from the perspective of Global South societies, indigenous nations in particular, with solid experiences and knowledge of the commons. They have the outstanding intellectual and moral authority, and the main job for most is to listen, learn, and act together.
  • 388
  • 23 Dec 2024
Topic Review
Energy Efficiency Policies for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
The importance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from economic, social, and environmental point of view and the crucial role of energy efficiency (EE) are widely recognized. However, the development of effective policies and their analysis are still challenging topics, for which research is relatively scarce. The main reasons for this are the high heterogeneity of SMEs, their low energy impact compared with energy-intensive enterprises, the lack of quantitative information on the energy consumption of SMEs, and the low awareness of SMEs on energy topics. The structural paradigm change in the energy markets has underlined the importance of EE in SMEs. It is necessary to highligth the need for a good balance between economic and supportive mechanisms and the crucial role of energy audits. The analyzed contributions show that despite SMEs’ efforts to use existing EE policies, there are still important barriers to be addressed. Moreover, there is an important lack of quantitative analyses, which are necessary for the development a harmonized policy evaluation approach.
  • 369
  • 25 Sep 2024
Topic Review
Causal Dynamics of Sugarcane Burning in Kanchanaburi
A research study aimed to understand causes and interconnected factors leading to sugarcane burning in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand
  • 26
  • 11 Feb 2026
Topic Review
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions refer to the release of radiatively‑active atmospheric gaseous constituents, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases, from natural processes or anthropogenic activities into the Earth’s atmosphere over a defined time period [1][2]. These emissions comprise mass flows of gases capable of absorbing and re‑emitting infrared terrestrial radiation, thereby modifying the planetary radiative energy balance and driving the enhanced greenhouse effect [2][3]. Greenhouse gas emissions can be categorised by emission origin, scope, and gas species, and are commonly aggregated and quantified using carbon‑dioxide‑equivalent metrics to enable comparative assessment of their net radiative forcing impact [1][4]. The term encompasses both direct point‑source releases and diffuse non‑point‑source discharges generated across industrial, built‑environment, agricultural, energy‑generation, and waste‑management systems.
  • 24
  • 14 Sep 2026
Topic Review
Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER)
The oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is the anodic half-reaction of water splitting, in which water is oxidised to molecular oxygen with the release of four protons and four electrons. It is the bottleneck of electrolytic hydrogen production: the reaction is a multi-step proton-coupled electron transfer whose intermediates bind to the surface through correlated energies, so a catalyst cannot be optimised for one step alone, and the overpotential required on even the most active materials is substantial. Because acidic operation demands iridium or ruthenium oxides, much of the work concerns earth-abundant catalysts that operate in alkaline medium, and the progress on bifunctional materials that also evolve hydrogen has been reviewed [1]. Cobalt-based catalysts are the most studied of these; dispersing the metal in a conductive carbon matrix raises the utilisation and gives a durable electrode [2], and nanoengineering the cobalt phase to expose more of the active site improves the intrinsic activity further [3]. Transition-metal oxides that are not themselves noble have also been examined, vanadium dioxide among them [4]. Compositionally complex alloys are explored as a way of tuning the adsorption energies continuously [5]. The surface of such catalysts is usually reconstructed under anodic bias, so the phase that is prepared is rarely the phase that operates.
  • 18
  • 08 Oct 2026
Topic Review
Agricultural Sustainability
Agricultural sustainability refers to the capacity of agricultural systems to maintain long-term productivity, environmental integrity, and socio-economic viability while meeting current and future demands for food, fiber, and ecosystem services [1][2]. The concept emphasizes the balance between agricultural production and the conservation of essential natural resources, including soil, water, biodiversity, and climate-regulating functions, recognizing that conventional production practices may generate significant environmental pressures such as land degradation, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions [3][4]. It encompasses ecological, economic, and social dimensions of agricultural systems, including resource-use efficiency, ecosystem functioning, farm-level economic viability, and the capacity of agricultural systems to adapt to environmental and socioeconomic change [2]. Approaches such as sustainable intensification, agroecology, precision resource management, and regenerative agriculture represent different pathways for addressing these dimensions while maintaining agricultural production and resource conditions over time.
  • 17
  • 01 Oct 2026
Topic Review
Photocatalytic CO2 Reduction
Photocatalytic CO2 reduction is the conversion of carbon dioxide into fuels or chemical feedstocks at the surface of an illuminated semiconductor, where absorbed photons generate the electron-hole pairs that drive the reduction and the accompanying oxidation. The reaction is difficult because the first electron transfer to a linear, thermodynamically stable molecule is uphill and competes with hydrogen evolution, so the product distribution is set by the surface chemistry as much as by the band positions, and the mechanistic picture, including which adsorbed intermediate forms first, is still discussed [1]. Copper-containing semiconductors and copper-loaded photocatalysts have been examined most often, because copper binds the reduction intermediates in a way that favours products beyond carbon monoxide [2]. Noble metals collect electrons efficiently but are expensive, and non-noble substitutes are being developed to replace them [3]. Coupling a semiconductor to a conductive carbon phase improves charge separation and has steered the reaction selectively toward methane under visible light [4]. Integrating the photocatalytic step with a second conversion stage, so that the chemical output becomes electrical power in one device, is an alternative direction [5]. Reported rates and selectivities vary widely between laboratories, partly because of the difficulty of excluding carbon contamination.
  • 12
  • 08 Oct 2026
Topic Review
Electrocatalytic Activity
Electrocatalytic activity is the rate at which an electrode material accelerates an electrochemical reaction at a given potential, and it is reported either as a current density at a fixed overpotential or as the overpotential needed to reach a stated current. Because the measured current contains contributions from the surface area, the mass transport and the ohmic drop, activity is meaningful only when the area is known and the measurement is corrected for the other two. The quantity that has proved most useful in comparing materials is the binding energy of a key intermediate, and plotting activity against it gives the characteristic volcano shape: too weak a binding fails to activate the reactant, too strong a binding poisons the surface, and the optimum lies in between [1]. That correlation, established empirically for oxide surfaces, was later rationalised from bulk thermochemistry, which explains why a bulk quantity can predict a surface rate [2]. Simple compositional descriptors, average metal-ion electronegativity among them, then serve to screen families of compounds before any calculation is done [3]. The same logic applies to selectivity, where a descriptor has to separate the desired product from a competing one [4]. Particle size and crystal phase shift the position of a material on the volcano, so activity is not a property of composition alone [5].
  • 10
  • 24 Sep 2026
Topic Review
Janus Membrane
A Janus Membrane is a membrane whose two faces carry opposite wettability or distinct chemical functionality, so each side interacts differently with the liquids it meets [1]. Membrane emulsification paired with solvent pervaporation produces functional magnetic and Janus nanobeads continuously [1]. Dual hydrogen-bonding stabilised Janus membranes combine anti-fouling, anti-wetting and anti-scaling action in vacuum membrane distillation [2]. Polyamide layer transfer growth with beta zeolite incorporation delivers the same synergy through a different fabrication route [3]. Faces of opposite wettability can prompt the synchronous synthesis and separation of hydrophobic ionic liquids [4]. The molecular design of homological dialkylated naphthalene diimides illustrates the building-block chemistry behind next-generation organic electronic layers [5].
  • 10
  • 06 Nov 2026
Topic Review
CO2 Photoreduction
CO2 photoreduction is the light-driven conversion of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide, formate, methanol, methane or longer hydrocarbons, using a semiconductor photocatalyst that absorbs photons and delivers electrons and holes to surface sites [1]. The reaction competes with hydrogen evolution when water is the electron donor, and the product distribution is set by the binding energies of the adsorbed intermediates, so selectivity varies strongly between catalysts and between reaction media [2]. Most studies employ aqueous suspensions of TiO2, other metal oxides, metal sulfides, graphitic carbon nitride or metal-organic frameworks, often with a metal or oxide cocatalyst that separates charge and provides the active site; rates for a laboratory photocatalyst are typically on the order of micromoles of product per gram per hour, with apparent quantum yields usually below a few percent [3]. Because a single photon supplies about 1.8-3.2 eV while the overall reduction of CO2 to methane requires eight electrons and eight protons, at least the corresponding number of photons is needed per molecule, which caps the attainable solar-to-fuel efficiency [2]. Reaction conditions also matter: the CO2 concentration, the amount of water vapour, the pH and the light intensity all shift both the rate and the product ratio [4]. Stability, and the difficulty of comparing results obtained under different illumination and reactor geometries, remain open problems, and standardised reporting of rates, quantum yields and control experiments is still an active issue [5].
  • 9
  • 22 Sep 2026
Topic Review
Adaptation to Climate Change
Adaptation to climate change refers to the process through which human and natural systems adjust to actual or expected climatic changes and their associated impacts in order to reduce vulnerability, minimize risks, and enhance resilience [1][2]. Within the framework of climate change and sustainable development, adaptation encompasses a wide range of technological, ecological, institutional, and behavioral responses, including climate-resilient infrastructure, ecosystem-based management, improved resource governance, and adjustments in production systems [2]. Unlike climate change mitigation, which focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, adaptation primarily addresses the consequences of climate variability and long-term climatic shifts by strengthening the adaptive capacity of societies and ecosystems [1][3]. The effectiveness of adaptation strategies depends on local environmental conditions, socioeconomic resources, governance capacity, and technological availability, making adaptation inherently context-specific and dynamic [1][3]. By reducing exposure and sensitivity to climate-related hazards while enhancing resilience, adaptation represents a critical pathway for achieving sustainable development under ongoing global climate change [2].
  • 9
  • 23 Sep 2026
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