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Topic Review
Economic Growth and CO2
This entry explored the effect of energy consumption and economic growth on CO2 emissions. The relationship between energy consumption, economic growth and CO2 emissions was assessed using regression analysis (the pooled OLS regression and fixed effects methods), Granger causality and panel cointegration tests. Data from 70 countries between 1994–2013 were analysed. The result of the Granger causality tests revealed that the study variables (population, capital stock and economic growth) have a bi-directional causal relationship with CO2 emissions, while energy consumption has a uni-directional relationship. Likewise, the outcome of the cointegration tests established that a long-run relationship exists among the study variables (energy consumption and economic growth) with CO2 emissions. However, the pooled OLS and fixed methods both showed that energy consumption and economic growth have a significant positive impact on CO2 emissions. Hence, this study supports the need for a global transition to a low carbon economy primarily through climate finance, which refers to local, national, or transnational financing, that may be drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing. This will help foster large-scale investments in clean energy, that are required to significantly reduce CO2 emissions.
  • 713
  • 26 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Economic Indicators in Water Sector for Circular Economy
Protection and sustainable management of water was indicated as one of the strategic tasks in the process of transformation towards a circular economy (CE) in the European Union (EU), therefore, the water and wastewater sector plays an important role in this process.
  • 602
  • 31 Dec 2021
Topic Review
Economics in Marine Spatial Planning
There has been a rapid increase in the use of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) worldwide, partly due to the continued loss of marine biodiversity and habitat. The sustainability of marine resources is threatened in all regions of the world by major events such as climate change, marine pollution, and overfishing, as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing both on the high seas and in country waters.
  • 840
  • 20 Feb 2024
Topic Review
Economics of Global Warming
The economics of global warming concerns the economic aspects of global warming; this can inform policies that governments might consider in response. A number of factors make this a difficult problem from both economic and political perspectives: it is a long-term, intergenerational problem; benefits and costs are distributed unequally both within and across countries; and both scientific and public opinions need to be taken into account. One of the most important greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide (CO2). Around 20% of carbon dioxide which is emitted due to human activities can remain in the atmosphere for many thousands of years. The long time scales and uncertainty associated with global warming have led analysts to develop "scenarios" of future environmental, social and economic changes. These scenarios can help governments understand the potential consequences of their decisions. The impacts of climate change include the loss of biodiversity, sea level rise, increased frequency and severity of some extreme weather events, and acidification of the oceans. Economists have attempted to quantify these impacts in monetary terms, but these assessments can be controversial. The two main policy responses to global warming are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (climate change mitigation) and to adapt to the impacts of global warming (e.g., by building levees in response to sea level rise). Another policy response which has recently received greater attention is geoengineering of the climate system (e.g. injecting aerosols into the atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from the Earth's surface). One of the responses to the uncertainties of global warming is to adopt a strategy of sequential decision making. This strategy recognizes that decisions on global warming need to be made with incomplete information, and that decisions in the near term will have potentially long-term impacts. Governments might choose to use risk management as part of their policy response to global warming. For instance, a risk-based approach can be applied to climate impacts which are difficult to quantify in economic terms, e.g., the impacts of global warming on indigenous peoples. Analysts have assessed global warming in relation to sustainable development. Sustainable development considers how future generations might be affected by the actions of the current generation. In some areas, policies designed to address global warming may contribute positively towards other development objectives. In other areas, the cost of global warming policies may divert resources away from other socially and environmentally beneficial investments (the opportunity costs of climate change policy).
  • 583
  • 19 Oct 2022
Topic Review
Ecosystem Health and Wetland Landscape Ecological Health
Wetlands, along with forests and oceans, are considered one of the world’s three major ecosystems, serving vital roles in providing material production, regulating climate and hydrology, maintaining the global ecological balance, and protecting species genetics and the Earth’s ecological environment.
  • 330
  • 13 Jul 2023
Topic Review
Ecosystem Service Supply–Demand Risks
Ecosystem services refer to the natural resources and commodities comprising natural ecosystems, which can be directly used or consumed by humans, and maintain the environmental conditions for human survival and development. These services are the resource and environmental basis for human survival and development. For a long time, people’s lack of understanding of the importance of ecosystem services has caused many problems to excessive use of natural resources and affected regional and even global ecological security. Regional ecological and environmental problems are mainly derived from changes in urbanization and land cover changes to the structure and pattern of regional ecosystems. Human activities directly affect changes in ecosystem services and are an important driving force for changes in ecosystem services. Regional ecological and environmental problems are essentially the spatial difference or imbalance between the supply and demand of regional ecosystem services. With the rapid growth of population and intensification of human activities, human demand for ecosystem services is increasing, such as food and water. Meanwhile, the sustainable supply of ecosystem services is under threat. For example, river drying can cause water shortage, the deficiency of an air purification service in an urban area directly affects the health of citizens and soil erosion also can cause a series of ecological problems, which may intensify ecosystem service supply–demand risks. In this paper, ecosystem service supply–demand risks were defined as the possibility that the supply level of ecosystem services was insufficient to meet the local human needs, or the supply level decreased within a set time range. In human production and life, when the consumption of ecosystem service exceeds the threshold of ecosystem service supply, and the ecosystem services supply cannot meet the human demand, the ecosystem service is exposed to risks. Therefore, measuring the relationship between the supply and demand of ecosystem services and identifying the supply–demand risk is particularly important for the effective allocation of natural resources and the management of ecosystem services. Identification of ecosystem service supply–demand risk also has important practical significance for alleviating the contradiction between man and land and improving regional sustainable development.
  • 455
  • 20 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Ecosystem Service Trade-Offs/Synergies of Karst Desertification Control
Ecosystem services, as the term of a scientific period, began in 1970 with the publication of the UN University’s report on “Human Impact on the Global Environment”. Since then, Costanza has proposed that ecosystem services are benefits derived directly or indirectly by human beings from the ecosystem, which are used to maintain the natural environmental conditions and utilities on which human beings depend for survival and development. Trade-offs, as a fundamental concept, first appeared in economics and were defined as opportunity costs. Where resources are scarce, an individual or group must give up a certain amount of additional scarce resources to obtain more of the scarce resources. Karst desertification refers to the land degradation phenomenon caused by the disturbance and destruction of unreasonable human social and economic activities under the fragile karst environment in the subtropical zone, which is manifested by soil erosion, gradual rock exposure, land productivity degradation, and a desert-like landscape on the surface. The results of management over the years show that forests, as the main provider of ecosystem services, have the functions of water conservation, soil and water conservation, carbon sequestration, and climate change mitigation. In particular, they play an irreplaceable role in managing karst desertification.
  • 549
  • 13 Mar 2023
Topic Review
Ecosystem Services in Forest Remnants
Analyzing the landscape configuration factors where they are located can ensure a more accurate spatial assessment of the supply of ecosystem services. It can also show if the benefits promoted by ecosystems depend not only on the supply of these services but also on the demand, the cultural values, and the interest of the society where they are located.
  • 216
  • 02 Nov 2023
Topic Review
Ecosystem Services of Constructed Wetlands for Wastewater Treatment
Constructed wetlands (CWs) are nature-based solutions that utilize natural vegetation, soils, and microbes to treat domestic wastewater and industrial effluents. They are engineered treatment systems that mimic the functions of natural wetlands to capture stormwater, reduce nutrient loads, and create diverse wildlife habitats. As an ecosystem, CWs contribute to human well-being by providing certain ecosystem services that can be classified into four distinct categories, namely: provisioning services, regulating services, supporting services, and cultural services.
  • 747
  • 01 May 2023
Topic Review
Ecosystem Services Potential of Endemic Floras
Natural, sustainable products arise in many fields, wild plants are reconsidered as providers of traditional or innovative applications. The notion of ecosystem services (ES) provides a frame to evaluate their benefits, but is still scarcely applied to endemic floras.
  • 428
  • 31 May 2022
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