„Problemy Ekorozwoju” / „Problems of Sustainable Development” is a peer-reviewed, international, interdisciplinary half-yearly journal published in English language by Lublin University of Technology, in an electronic version. The articles presented in this journal concern sustainable development problematics from the fields (categories) of multidisciplinary sciences, environmental engineering, energy, social sciences, sociology and philosophy, economics, legal sciences and environmental science. The journal publishes in open access formula under the Creative Commons Attribution licence – CC BY 4.0 Int. (until 2023 inclusive CC BY-SA). Since 2008 the journal's articles are indexed in Scopus and Web of Science databases. Since 2025 also in DOAJ (more)
An Evaluation of the Convergence of Six Different Environmental Sustainable Development Goals in OECD Countries
The aim of this study is to analyze the convergence of the six Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) closely related to the environment, out of the 17 SDGs targeted to be achieved by all countries by 2030 by the United Nations, in the context of OECD countries. To this end, the convergence of the general SDG index and SDG 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, and 15, which are related to the environment, has been analyzed between 2000 and 2023. A recently- introduced structural unit root test has been used in the study. The study concluded that OECD countries with the same convergence/divergence results and expectations for the SDG Index, SDG 6, SDG 7, SDG 12, SDG 13, SDG 14, and SDG 15 should monitor their environmental policies, while countries with different expectations should update their environmental policies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Idris Yagmur, Sakiru Adebola Solarin , Mustafa Kocaoğlu , Halit Buluthan Çetintaş https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Empowering Women for Sustainable Economic Recovery: Optimizing Natural Resource Markets for Environmental Efficiency in the USA
The UN SDG 5 promotes gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. Despite its focus on SDG 5 (Gender Equality), the study recognizes that empowering women supports numerous other SDGs. Gender equality's promotion of inclusive p boosts SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) through increased productivity and innovation, SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure) through increased female representation in science and technology, SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) through more sustainable behavioral choices, and SDG 13 (Climate Action) through environmental awareness and policy advocacy. Empowering women is a systemic driver for social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The lack of gender parity in governance is counterproductive to long-term goals. Based on the key facts, the study filled a research gap by including various predictors of women's autonomy that aid in managing a country's environmental and natural resources in the United States by using a period of 1975–2023. The asymmetric relationship between women's autonomy factors, ecological footprints, and ores and metal exports was discovered using the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. Further, Granger causality test is used for causal inferences between the variables. The NARDL estimates show that increasing the women's sovereignty index is beneficial in the short and long run for reducing ecological footprints and conserving ores and metal exports. Furthermore, advanced female education's positive and negative shocks reduce environmental footprints through political wisdom. The Granger causality estimates show that ecological footprints cause of to increase advanced female education, whereas negative shocks of advanced female education cause women's sovereignty. The findings confirmed the viability of asymmetric causation between the variables mentioned during the specified period. The country needs to include women in its main policy plans to protect the environment and natural resources for green and clean development.
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Khalid Anser, Helmi Ali Mkaouar, Jameel Ahmad Khader, Alaa Shoukry, Wasfi Yengui, Khalid Zaman https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Knowledge-Based Economic Growth: Strategies for Integrating Digital Transformation in Developing Economies
The aim of the study was to analyse the impact of digital transformation and innovative technologies on economic growth. Regression analysis was employed to identify correlations between innovation expenditure, Internet penetration, gross domestic product levels across 12 countries over the period of 1996-2022. The results indicated that the relationship between research and development expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product and the level of gross domestic product was significant in most countries. The analysis of China's experience revealed that public investment in the digital economy, as well as the development of artificial intelligence and cloud computing, contributed to industrial modernisation and enhanced public administration. The study confirmed that digitalisation and investment in human capital play a crucial role in shaping the knowledge economy and require a comprehensive approach, including government regulation, the development of innovation ecosystems, the stimulation of digital technologies within the private sector.
Copyright (c) 2026 Xingyuan Sun, Jize Liu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Social Capital and its Influence on Community Resilience and Local Governance Capacity
The aim of this study was to conceptualize social capital as a tool for developing rural community resilience through digitalization tools. To achieve the aim of the study, a case study was conducted based on successful project experiences in India, Brazil, Poland, Spain and Sweden. As a result of the study, five successful practices are identified, which are based on five different approaches to interpret the impact of social capital on community sustainability in rural areas. The analysis determines that the amount of social networks together with digital tools promotes proactive resilience. Reactive resilience can be promoted by slow change of social capital together with digital technologies. Adaptive resilience in rural communities requires a practical emphasis on the diversity of social networks, balancing capitals or contributions from formal organizations and partners. The findings have practical value, as the approaches identified can contribute to understanding how to increase the resilience of rural communities in the context of the interaction between digitalization and social capital.
Copyright (c) 2026 Lin Ji, Xi Cheng, Savetbek Abdrasulov https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Comparing the Foreign Policy Identities of the United States of America and the European Union in Climate Communications and National Narratives
The aim of the study was to determine the specifics of the formation and transformation of the foreign policy positions of the United States of America (USA) and the European Union (EU) based on a comprehensive analysis of the climate communications and public diplomacy in the global context. Using the methods of discourse analysis, content analysis, and comparative analysis, the author studied materials for the period 2015-2023, including international agreements, national strategies, and policy documents. On this basis, the dominant narratives, rhetorical strategies, and value orientations that shaped the unique international positions of the United States as a technological leader and the EU as a normative force were identified. The study results revealed significant differences in strategic approaches: The US focused on technological innovations, competitive advantages, and economic opportunities, while the EU emphasised the values of multilateral cooperation, collective responsibility, and inclusive dialogue. It was found that the transformation of public narratives and communication strategies correlated with changes in political administrations in the US and institutional reforms in the EU, which was reflected in the change in rhetoric, priorities, and mechanisms for implementing climate policy. The study demonstrated a significant evolution of the approaches of both actors to the construction of international subjectivity and the establishment of global leadership through the prism of climate discourse. The key points of convergence and divergence of the foreign policy positions in the context of multilateral diplomacy and global governance were identified. The influence of climate discourse on the formation of the international image and geopolitical status of the studied actors, as well as its role in the realisation of the strategic interests in the international arena, was substantiated. Tendencies towards increased competition between the US and the EU for global leadership in climate policy and its impact on the transformation of the world order were identified.
Copyright (c) 2026 Olena Shevchenko, Iuliia Tsyrfa, Mykhailo Goncharenko, Svitlana Palii, Dmytro Podolchuk https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Management of Chinese Energy Sector for the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: Legislative Gaps and Emerging Judicial Trends
The study aims to review the legislative regulation of the Chinese energy sector to identify gaps in the legal framework and new trends in judicial practice that affect the country’s transition to a low-carbon economy. A comprehensive analysis of key regulatory acts such as Forest Code, Law on Renewable Energy Sources, Law on Electricity, and National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change until 2035 was carried out. International standards were evaluated and compared with the approaches of other countries. The study determined that despite the progress in creating a legal framework to support renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, significant legislative gaps exist. For instance, the legislation does not fully cover emerging technologies, such as hydrogen and carbon capture and storage, which are key to achieving low-carbon goals. Legal mechanisms for the integration of decentralised energy systems are also underdeveloped, which limits the use of renewable energy sources. The study noted that China has set ambitious targets, including peaking CO₂ emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. China, as the largest producer of CO₂ emissions in the world, faces a serious challenge related to emissions from fossil fuel combustion. This problem is becoming especially urgent given the country’s large-scale industrial development and its dependence on coal as the main source of energy. Findings highlight the importance of further development and harmonisation of legislation to support China’s sustainable energy development. This study can be used as a basis for improving legislative and regulatory approaches to achieving low-carbon development goals, by addressing identified legislative gaps and introducing new legal mechanisms.
Copyright (c) 2026 Naixin Hu, Qian Wu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sustainable Budgeting and Climate Adaptation Finance: Optimizing Public Expenditures Amid Intensifying Climate Crisis
Amid accelerating climate change impacts, sustainable public finance has become a core prerequisite for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 (Climate Action) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production). This study examines the transformation of national budget expenditure structures to support climate adaptation measures in line with the Glasgow Climate Pact, emphasising the need for predictable, equitable, and sustainability-oriented financing mechanisms The paper proposes a comprehensive mechanism for determining firm national commitments to climate adaptation financing and for strengthening the institutional foundations of the Adaptation Fund. The mechanism integrates (a) categorisation of countries based on decoupling performance and the sustainability of their economic–environmental trajectories; (b) an assessment of the historical relationship between economic growth, emissions intensity, and environmental degradation; and (c) forecasting of sustainability-related indicators to determine the required structural adjustments in budget spending. The analysis shows that sustainable budgeting based on transparent environmental criteria and long-term sustainability goals can enhance countries' ability to finance adaptation, reduce vulnerability to climate change, and align budget strategies with the broader global sustainable development agenda.
Copyright (c) 2026 George Abuselidze https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Eco-feminist Ethics: A Sustainable Approach to the Environmental Crisis
What if all the plants and plateaus, rocks and mountains, air and water of the planet vanish – except human beings? and what if all human beings vanished, leaving behind everything else on the planet? The first alternative seems unimaginable. However, the second one seems impractical but highly romantic. This, however, shows the significance of two categories at hand, viz. humans on one hand and the rest of the planet on the other. Two categories are not even simple binaries enjoying equal status in the world of values. No one knows how the former assumes the power to dominate the latter. Moreover, it is thoroughly backed by vindication. Domination gets justification, exploitation finds plausibility. The rest of nature thus is vindicated and vanquished in the name of progress and prosperity. In this article, we discuss the current environmental degradation which occurs due to the dualistic mindset of human beings. As we move towards a philosophical analysis, we adopt an eco-feminist approach to coping with the current environmental catastrophe. This paper promote ecofeminist ideology as a viable alternative policy and ethical model for environmental conservation, demonstrating a sustainable approach grounded in ecofeminist philosophy. This paper has a two-fold objective: first to examine the internal connection between women and nature from an eco-feminist perspective; and second, to explore a sustainable approach to meet the environmental crisis. Through this paper, we establish the relationship between ecofeminism and the sustainability approach, integrating philosophical, ecological and social perspectives.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dipti Khatua, Ajit Kumar Behura, Purnima Lenka https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sustainable Energy Transition, Energy Efficiency and Labor Market Dynamics: An Empirical Assessment of SDG 7 and SDG 8
As the global shift toward cleaner energy accelerates, a critical question emerges: can sustainable energy transition foster decent employment or does it generate new labour market frictions? This study investigates how renewable energy transition and energy efficiency shape labour market dynamics across the BRICS economies, using a balanced panel of five countries from 2000–2023. The analysis integrates a composite Renewable Energy Transition Index (constructed via PCA), energy intensity and multidimensional institutional and demographic controls. A multi-method empirical strategy—fixed effects, two-stage least squares and method-of-moments quantile regression, captures both average and distributional effects, complemented by pre-/post-COVID-19 estimations to assess whether the pandemic altered the underlying relationships. The findings reveal that energy efficiency consistently enhances labour market outcomes, with this effect strengthening in the post-COVID period. By contrast, renewable energy transition exerts heterogeneous and often adverse short-run impacts, particularly in weaker labour markets and in the full BRICS configuration, where Russia’s inclusion amplifies transition frictions. Education and governance mitigate some of these effects, with human capital providing the most stable moderating channel. Country-specific patterns show strong energy–labour linkages in Brazil and China, muted responses in India, persistent demographic pressures in South Africa and a significant bloc-level influence of Russia. By embedding SDG 7 and SDG 8 within a unified analytical framework and incorporating pandemic-related dynamics, this study offers novel evidence on how clean energy pathways interact with labour structures in emerging economies. The results highlight the importance of skills development, institutional capability and context-sensitive policy sequencing for aligning sustainable energy transition with inclusive and resilient labour markets.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hongxia Zhang, Chuks Kingsley Okogor, Uche Benson Okogor, Abdifatah Ahmed Ali Afyare https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Reducing or Reproducing Inequality? A Critical Analysis of the Gender and Sustainability through Problematizing Digital Policies in India
This study critically examines India’s Gender Digital Divide (GDD) through Carol Bacchi’s ‘What’s the Problem Represented to Be?’ (WPR) framework, exploring how digital inclusion initiatives, framed around empowerment narratives and sustainability agendas reinforcing systemic inequalities. Moving beyond access-driven metrics and data-driven analytics, the evaluation shows how policy discourses privileged technocratic solutions and neoliberal logics, which may marginalise grassroots innovations, silence alternative framings and overlook intersectional realities of women’s digital exclusion in developing economies. The study highlights contradictions in sustainability narratives discovering a plurality of sustainability definitions, where digital inclusion is promoted as a solution, but fails to address deeper inequalities for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a complex socioeconomic context. The findings contribute directly to the advancement of policymaking strategies for SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) specifically as it deals with the gendered inequalities in digital governance to promote strategies for advocating socially responsive and globally sustainable policy design.
Copyright (c) 2026 Sanjana Santra, Kishore Kumar, Nilanjan Chattopadhyay https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Pricing, Green Investment and Job Carbon Quality in Eight Leading Energy-Transitioning Economies: Implications for Employment, Health, and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Addressing climate change and improving population welfare remain central pillars of the global sustainability agenda. Motivated by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3 (Good Health), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 13 (Climate Action), this study examines how carbon pricing, green investment, and job quality influence employment and community health across eight leading energy-transitioning economies, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, and the United States. Using panel data from 2013–2023, covering the pre-COVID period (2013–2019) and the COVID-period (2020–2023), we apply multiple estimators (PCSE, FGLS, fractional probit, pooled regression, and two-way fixed effects). Findings show that while carbon pricing and green investment are essential for long-term decarbonization, they exert short-run labour-market pressures, with carbon pricing significantly reducing employment in both periods. Green investment also shows a negative short-term effect on employment, reflecting early-stage capital intensity of renewable energy transitions. Job quality has limited effects on employment but significantly improves life expectancy, underscoring its importance for SDG 3. Carbon pricing positively influences life expectancy, confirming key health co-benefits of climate policy. Results emphasize the need for inclusive green-transition policies, especially labour-market protections and reskilling systems that ensure climate action aligns effectively with SDGs 3, 7, 8, and 13.
Copyright (c) 2026 Hongyun Kuang, Qian Xiao, Ye Wu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Green Jobs in the Energy Transition among the Eight Largest Economies: Assessing Employment Quality in Renewable Energy Supply Chains
The global transition toward renewable energy has intensified not only efforts to mitigate climate change and enhance energy security but also expectations regarding the creation of decent and high-quality green jobs. While existing studies largely focus on the quantity of green employment, limited attention has been paid to job quality and how major global shocks reshape green labour markets. This study examines the determinants of green job penetration and green job quality across the eight largest global economies, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Japan, Spain, and the United States, over the period 2013–2023. Drawing on structural transformation, energy security, and regulatory theories, the analysis evaluates the roles of renewable energy investment, regulatory quality, energy import dependence, and global supply chain pressure, while explicitly accounting for the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict. Using a combination of Panel-Corrected Standard Errors, Driscoll–Kraay fixed effects, and bias-corrected dynamic panel estimators, the study further decomposes outcomes into pre-COVID (2013–2019), COVID shock (2020–2021), and post-COVID recovery (2022–2023) periods. The findings reveal a clear trade-off between green job penetration and green job quality. Renewable energy investment generally increases green job intensity but, in the post-COVID period, is associated with weaker job quality, suggesting that recovery programmes prioritised speed and scale over employment conditions. Regulatory quality and energy import dependence enhance green job quality but tend to constrain job penetration. Global supply chain pressure stimulates green job creation before COVID-19 but weakens both penetration and quality after the pandemic. Overall, the results underscore the need for integrated energy, labour, and industrial policies that balance employment expansion with decent work standards, thereby advancing SDGs 7, 8, 9, and 13 in the post-pandemic green transition.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jianhua Zheng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Exploring Dynamic Pathways of Green Technology Innovation Efficiency in Provincial Regions of China
The efficiency of green technology innovation functions as a fundamental catalyst for realizing the synergy between innovation-driven development and ecological transformation, which is essential for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), and SDG 13 (Climate Action). This study assesses green technology innovation efficiency across 30 Chinese provinces from 2013 to 2024 using the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. It constructs an analytical framework that integrates institutional settings, industrial structure, and market environment, and applies dynamic Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to examine the configurational effects of these factors on green technology innovation efficiency. Additionally, the Kruskal-Wallis rank sum test is employed to investigate spatial disparities in the configurational coverage at the provincial level. To address the temporal heterogeneity arising from events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, this study employs a dynamic QCA approach that captures both between-group and within-group variations across different time periods. The results indicate that no single factor constitutes a necessary condition for high green technology innovation efficiency; instead, three distinct pathways are identified as equally effective. Moreover, significant regional differences are observed in the configurational distribution of green technology innovation efficiency across the eastern, central, and western regions of China. These findings provide practical implications for policymakers seeking to advance China's sustainable development agenda through differentiated regional innovation strategies. This paper presents a multidimensional analytical framework and utilizes dynamic QCA to offer a comprehensive examination of complex causal relationships.
Copyright (c) 2026 Juan Tan, Jinyu Wei https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Green Finance and Human Health Outcomes: The Role of Public Renewable Energy Investment in China, India and Selected Economies
Climate-aligned finance is increasingly expected to yield measurable health co-benefits, yet it remains unclear whether public renewable-energy investment translates into better population health in major emerging economies, particularly after COVID-19. This study examines whether climate-focused public renewable-energy finance (green finance) improves human health outcomes, whether environmental quality acts as a transmission channel, and whether the COVID-19 period altered the strength or direction of these relationships. We compile a balanced annual macro-panel for Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico over 2000–2023, drawing on harmonised international sources for public renewable-energy finance, health outcomes, emissions, and macro-structural controls. Baseline models are estimated using country fixed effects with Driscoll–Kraay standard errors, complemented by panel-corrected standard errors and Feasible Generalised Least Squares (FGLS) for robustness. A two-equation mediation framework tests environmental quality proxied by CO₂ emissions, with indirect effects evaluated using non-parametric bootstrap inference (1,000 replications). Structural change is assessed via sub-sample estimates for 2000–2019 and 2020–2023, alongside country-specific heterogeneity checks. The results show no robust contemporaneous association between green finance and life expectancy, while the association with under-5 mortality is estimator- and regime-dependent, appearing protective pre-COVID but attenuating during 2020–2023. The CO2-based mediation pathway is not statistically supported, consistent with a weak first-stage link between green finance and emissions. Overall, the findings refine theory on finance–environment–health linkages and inform practice by indicating that health co-benefits from energy-transition finance are conditional on complementary structural and health-system investments, which is very important from the perspective of sustainable development.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dechun Wang, Hao Ding https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Sustainable Development in Climate Change: A Systematic Literatur Review
T The acceleration of the climate crisis demands both conceptual and implementation-level integration between Sustainable Development (SD) and Climate Action (CA), yet Southeast Asian literature still exhibits fragmentation that hinders policy effectiveness. This study aims to present a systematic synthesis that assesses how SD and CA are researched, articulated, and operationalized in the region, while also tracing theoretical consistency, empirical contradictions, and unmapped research gaps. Academically, this review is crucial for addressing sectoral biases in SDG studies; practically, it reinforces the need for more coherent cross-sector climate policies. Using a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) of 22 core articles (2018–2025) rigorously selected from Scopus, the analysis employs systems thinking, SDG interlinkages, socio-technical transitions, and multi-level governance as synthesizing lenses. The findings indicate that although the literature is theoretically consistent regarding SD–CA interconnections, real-world implementation remains constrained by knowledge–behavior gaps, energy policy lock-ins, weak integration of local wisdom, and socio-technical barriers in the adoption of low-carbon technologies. Eight research gaps are identified, highlighting the need for integrative cross-disciplinary models and more robust causal methodologies. This study contributes by providing a synthesis framework that enriches theoretical discourse while offering strategic direction for policymakers to accelerate climate transformation in Southeast Asia.
Copyright (c) 2026 Dewi Risnawati, Sry Reski Mulka, Dea Rizki Amanda https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Harmonizing Human Dignity and Economic Progress: The Evolution of Labour Rights in the Global Architecture of Sustainable Development
Despite the growing recognition of labour rights within the framework of sustainable development, their structural transformation from national social guarantees into elements of global economic governance remains insufficiently explored. Existing scholarship largely examines labour standards either as traditional human rights instruments or as components of corporate social responsibility, without fully addressing their convergence within the architecture of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article aims to analyse the evolution of labour rights as a system-forming pillar of sustainable development, focusing on their integration into global regulatory, economic, and corporate governance mechanisms. The study examines how labour standards have shifted from sectoral legal norms to transnational instruments shaping investment practices, corporate accountability, and state obligations. Methodologically, the research applies an interdisciplinary approach combining historical-legal analysis of international labour standards, comparative examination of European Union social acquis – particularly mandatory human rights due diligence frameworks – and analytical assessment of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) metrics as mechanisms translating labour rights into economic value. The findings demonstrate a paradigm shift from territorially limited labour protection towards a supranational model of global responsibility. The analysis reveals that voluntary corporate initiatives are insufficient to prevent social dumping and modern forms of labour exploitation, while legally enforceable due diligence mechanisms and ESG-based risk assessment significantly enhance the practical implementation of decent work standards. The study further identifies the emergence of digital dignity as a new regulatory frontier driven by algorithmic management and the precarisation of platform-based work. The article argues that labour rights constitute an indivisible component of sustainable development, functioning simultaneously as fundamental human rights and as structural determinants of economic resilience. For countries undergoing post-conflict reconstruction and European integration, sustainable recovery requires not merely formal legal transposition but a conceptual rethinking of social solidarity to ensure that economic modernization does not undermine human dignity and decent work.
Copyright (c) 2026 Yuriy Kyrylov, Nataliia Cherevko https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Maṣlaḥah Mursalah and Environmental Sustainability: An Islamic Jurisprudential Perspective
Religious ethical traditions continue to serve as valuable sources of moral orientation and normative guidance to address the ongoing ecological crisis. Within Islamic thought, ecological responsibility is commonly articulated through concepts such as stewardship (khalīfah), balance (mīzān), and the prohibition of corruption (fasād). This article argues that maṣlaḥah mursalah – the principle of unrestricted public welfare in Islamic legal theory – provides a coherent jurisprudential framework for translating these ethical commitments into legal reasoning capable of addressing modern ecological challenges. Drawing on classical formulations by jurists such as al-Ghazālī and al-Shāṭibī, the study situates maṣlaḥah within the objectives of Islamic law (maqāṣid al-sharīʿah), emphasizing its concern with harm prevention, assessment of consequences, and the protection of collective welfare. It demonstrates that environmental degradation directly threatens core juridical objectives, including the preservation of life, intellect, and material resources, thereby warranting sustained legal engagement within an Islamic framework. By integrating theological foundations, juristic methodology, and contemporary applications, the article shows that maṣlaḥah mursalah functions as a disciplined and context-sensitive mode of legal reasoning rather than a discretionary appeal to utility. In doing so, it contributes to ongoing conversations in Islamic environmental ethics and clarifies the potential role of Islamic jurisprudence in contemporary sustainability discourse.
Copyright (c) 2026 Anthony Le Duc https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Green recovery, Low-Carbon Economy and Sustainable Development in BRICS Economies
Recovery packages are increasingly presented as a route to “build back better”, yet the extent to which green-labelled spending translates into measurable sustainability gains remains uncertain. This study examines how green recovery initiatives and low-carbon economic strategies shape sustainable development outcomes in BRICS, asking what effect green recovery has on sustainable development, how the transition to a low-carbon economy contributes to sustainability performance, and whether low-carbon development mediates the green recovery–sustainable development relationship. Using a quantitative panel design and harmonised secondary data for Brazil, China, India and South Africa over 2000–2023, sustainable development is proxied by adjusted net savings (% of GNI), green recovery by renewable energy investment, and the low-carbon economy by renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy). Panel-corrected standard errors are applied to full-sample and regime-specific estimates (pre-COVID: 2000–2019; COVID: 2020–2023), complemented by country-specific PCSE models, while mediation is assessed using fixed effects with 1,000 bootstrap replications. The results indicate that green recovery exhibits weak and regime-dependent links with sustainable development: it is modestly positive pre-COVID but becomes significantly negative during COVID and remains statistically insignificant in the full sample. In contrast, the low-carbon transition is positively and robustly associated with sustainable development, with a substantially stronger effect during COVID. The estimated indirect effect of green recovery via the low-carbon channel is positive but statistically insignificant, suggesting that green recovery has not yet produced consistent energy-mix shifts capable of transmitting sustainability gains. The study contributes by jointly estimating direct, low-carbon, and mediation pathways under crisis and non-crisis regimes, offering evidence to strengthen SDG 7, SDG 11 and SDG 13 alignment in major emerging economies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Xiaoning Sun, Sha Fu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Effective Management of Tourist Destinations to Minimize Negative Impacts on the Environment and Cultural Heritage
The purpose of the study was to develop and analyse strategies to reduce the negative impact of tourism on the environment and culture, focusing on recreational areas in China compared to other countries. A comprehensive approach was used, including data analysis, impact modelling and adaptation of the best international practices. The study analysed the current state of Chinese tourist areas and identified key factors contributing to the degradation of the regions. The application of the sustainable development model helped to identify the best ways to distribute tourist flows. The negative impact of intensive visits to natural areas on the environment of recreational areas was also investigated. It was found that a high level of tourist activity is often accompanied by inadequate waste management, which exacerbates the problem of pollution. The results of the study indicate the possibility of reducing the environmental burden while maintaining the economic attractiveness of the regions. As a result, the impact of intensive tourist visits on the state of natural and cultural resources was investigated, and the relationship between tourist pressure and the deterioration of infrastructure and artefacts was established. The impact of the commercialization of culture on the authenticity of cultural heritage was analysed, and the impact of public participation on the effectiveness of management strategies was determined. Thus, the study highlights the importance of environmental and cultural aspects in tourism planning, with a special focus on recreational areas in China. Various methodologies for assessing the impact of tourism on the environment and cultural heritage have been summarized, paving the way for more responsible practices. Highlighting specific examples of successful management strategies also provides valuable experience for other recreational regions facing similar challenges. The proposed recommendations will help to strengthen the capacity of regions to adapt to the growing environmental and cultural challenges associated with tourism.
Copyright (c) 2026 Zegeng Сhen, Shimin Fu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Coherence between Human and Sustainable Development: a DP2-Based Assessment
This article examines the coherence between the Human Development Index (HDI) and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) performance, explicitly accounting for inter-indicator dependence. Standard composite indices often rely on equal-weight arithmetic averaging and implicitly assume independence across components, which can double-count highly correlated measures and distort cross-country comparisons. We address this redundancy by applying the DP2 (Pena Distance) methodology, which corrects each indicator’s contribution using sequential R²-based factors and retains only unique information. Using panel data for 110 selected countries over 2015–2022, we build DP2-adjusted indices for: 1) human development based on the HDI components (life expectancy, schooling and income); 2) sustainable development based on the 17 goal-level SDG scores. We then compute a Development Coherence Index that captures the alignment between the two adjusted trajectories and classify countries into four regimes: high–high coherent, human-leading, sustainability-leading and low–low trap. Results show that redundancy adjustment can substantially re-order country performance, especially among high-income economies, where clusters of correlated SDG indicators tend to inflate headline sustainability scores. The coherence typology highlights systematic imbalances, for example, cases where human capabilities advance faster than environmental and institutional outcomes, pointing to potential policy incoherence and risks of development reversals. Convergence tests suggest conditional catching-up: lagging countries improve faster in some domains, yet coherence gaps often persist across income groups and regions over time. Overall, the proposed framework offers a practical tool for monitoring balanced progress towards the 2030 Agenda, targeting policy priorities to countries’ specific development constraints, and improving the design of indicators in practice.
Copyright (c) 2026 Oksana Liashenko, Olena Mykhailovska, Anastasiia Duka, Oleksandr Dluhopolskyi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Alternative Asset Diversification for ESG Investments: Evidence from G7 Countries Under Economic and Geopolitical Crises
In recent years, environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-oriented investments have emerged as a key pillar of sustainable finance. This study analyses the resilience of the ESG Leaders indices of G7 countries to global economic and geopolitical shocks, as well as their dynamic relationships with alternative assets such as Bitcoin, gold, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss franc. Covering the period from January 2019 to May 2025, the analysis incorporates major global developments, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia–Ukraine war, the collapse of the Silicon Valley Bank, the Israel–Palestine conflict, and U.S. tariff policies targeting China. The empirical findings reveal that ESG indices are significantly affected by such shocks and emphasize the necessity for investors to adapt their portfolio diversification strategies to evolving market conditions. The results show that the Japanese yen (excluding Japan) consistently exhibits the lowest correlation with the G7 ESG indices and provides considerable cost efficiency. While gold and the Swiss franc also serve as effective diversifiers under high uncertainty, Bitcoin generally offers a cost-effective diversification option.
Copyright (c) 2026 Halilibrahim Gökgöz, Aamir Aijaz Syed, Fadhila Hamza, Ahmed Jeribi https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Artificial Intelligence in Global Libraries: Pathways and Policies for Sustainable Development
This study examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is progressively reshaping library around the world including Asia and Republic of China, focusing on new possibilities, ongoing limitations, and regulatory approaches linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Employing a systematic literature review and a chronologically framed comparative analysis of peer-reviewed articles, policy texts, and institutional reports from 2019 to 2025, the research identifies four distinct stages of AI integration: Early Infrastructure (2019), Crisis-Driven Uptake (2020–2021), Emergent Generative AI (2022-2023), and Deliberate Mainstreaming (2024-2025). Results show that AI applications such as automated classification tools, interactive chatbots, analytics dashboards, and smart physical systems have markedly improved user services, broadened information access, and reinforced operational resilience, directly advancing SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). However, major obstacles remain, among them algorithmic prejudice, disputed data ownership, labor disruption, environmental costs of AI computing, and uneven advancement across SDG targets. A side‑by‑side cross‑national assessment indicates that China’s centralized, state‑directed approach enables rapid infrastructure rollout and broad replication, while many Western nations emphasize ethical oversight, social equity, and ecological accountability a priority set that often slows deployment. Integrating insights from both paradigms, the paper proposes an SDG‑consistent policy framework centered on layered governance, built‑in ethical checks, institutional skill‑building, and eco‑responsible AI operations. This research extends current theory by explicitly linking AI‑enabled library change with sustainability debates and offers concrete recommendations for policymakers, library leaders, and global agencies overseeing AI’s long‑term function in knowledge institutions.
Copyright (c) 2026 Shuang Zheng, Qianbai Dai , Rabiu Abubakar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Financial Inclusion, Energy Access, and Poverty Reduction in BRICS Plus Economies
Expanding financial systems and energy infrastructure is widely assumed to reduce poverty, yet evidence on how these systems interact remains limited. This study investigates whether financial inclusion and energy access independently and jointly influence poverty reduction in BRICS Plus economies. Using a balanced annual panel dataset covering ten emerging economies across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America over the period 2004–2023, the analysis employs two-way fixed effects with Driscoll–Kraay and Panel-Corrected Standard Errors to address heteroskedasticity and cross-sectional dependence. Poverty reduction is proxied by household final consumption expenditure per capita, while financial inclusion is measured through a principal component index and energy access by electricity access rates. The results show that energy access and financial inclusion individually exhibit negative associations with household welfare, suggesting that infrastructure expansion and financial deepening do not automatically translate into improved living standards when affordability constraints, tariffs, and financial costs are present. However, the interaction between financial inclusion and energy access is positive and highly significant, indicating strong complementarity. Financial systems enable households to convert electricity access into productive activities that enhance income and consumption. The interaction effect is particularly strong in lower-middle-income economies, while it weakens in higher-income contexts where financial and energy systems are already mature. The complementarity also declines during the COVID period, highlighting the vulnerability of development channels to global shocks. The study contributes to the literature by providing new evidence that the poverty effects of energy access depend critically on financial system inclusiveness. The findings underscore the importance of integrated finance–energy policies for advancing inclusive growth and sustainable development in emerging economies.
Copyright (c) 2026 Xiaowan Xu https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Resilience as a Key Feature of Smart Cities Supporting Sustainable Urban Development
Rapid urban growth coupled with the rising scale of complex city-level risks require new approaches to sustainable urban development and urban governance. Contemporary cities must not only improve the quality of life of their inhabitants but also ensure long-term stability, safety and sustainable development. In this context, the concepts of the smart city and the resilient city have emerged as pivotal themes in both scholarly discourse and urban governance.. The aim of this article is to analyse the conceptual synergy between these two concepts and to demonstrate that resilience should be considered one of the key features of a smart city and is in compliance with Sustainable Development Goal 11. The research is based on a leading academic publications concerning smart cities and urban resilience. The analysis focuses on identifying the main assumptions of both concepts and examining their areas of convergence. Based on its findings, a conceptual framework linking smart city development, urban resilience and sustainable urban development is proposed. The results of the analysis indicate that the smart city and resilient city concepts are complementary rather than competing approaches. Smart city strategies, based on technology, participatory governance and efficient resource management, provide a structural foundation for building urban resilience. At the same time, resilience strengthens the capacity of cities to respond to threats, adapt to changing conditions and maintain essential urban functions. The study concludes that resilience should be seen as an essential feature of smart cities, supporting their sustainable development.
Copyright (c) 2026 Magdalena Kisała https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0