The role of robots in the green economy

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Bogue
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Key Sectors ◽  
Robotic Disassembly ◽  
Robotic Vehicle ◽  
The Many

Purpose This aims to illustrate the role robotic technology is playing in the key sectors of the green economy. Design/methodology/approach Following a short introduction, this paper discusses existing and potential robotic applications in three key sectors of green economy: renewable energy, recycling and waste management and sustainable transport. This is followed by a discussion and concluding comments. Findings Robots are playing critical and growing roles in each of the three sectors of the green economy considered. Uses are expanding in the production of renewable energy systems and in their inspection and maintenance. Advances in AI and machine vision have enabled robotic mixed waste sorting which plays a vital role in recycling, and the robotic disassembly of electronic products is also gaining pace. Robots are being used extensively in the sustainable transport sector in the manufacture of electric vehicles and also in the production and recycling of electric vehicle batteries. Emerging applications include robotic vehicle recharging and battery swapping. Originality/value This provides an insight into the many ways in which robots are contributing to key sectors of the green economy.

Is it attractive to invest in alternative energy? Evidence from a five-factor Fama-French model for regional DJSI and renewable stock indexes

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Garcia-Amate ◽  
Alicia Ramírez-Orellana ◽  
Alfonso A. Rojo Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Alternative Energy ◽  
Factor Model ◽  
Five Factor Model ◽  
Private Investment ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Economic Implications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thomson Reuters

PurposeThis study aims to examine the attractiveness of the regional Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes (DJSI) and several renewable energy indexes during December 31, 2010 to December 31, 2019. This study uses a risk-return analysis and a set of explanatory factors. Lastly, this study conducts a comparative analysis of these indexes with conventional indexes. Design/methodology/approachThis study uses data from Eikon, a Thomson Reuters database. To analyze the indexes’ behavior, this study uses the indexes’ annual return as of December 31 for each year. Next, this study estimates the Fama and French’s five-factor model using an ordinary least squares regression for regional DJSI and renewable energy indexes. FindingsThe results show that regional DJSIs delivered returns both above and below conventional indexes. In contrast, renewable energy indexes had high betas and negative returns, making them unattractive to investors. Practical implicationsThe results imply the need for public financing programs that support the transition to a sustainable economy and reduce risk and increase the return on private investment. Social implicationsThis study provides insights for policymakers regarding the importance of sustainability indexes in the transition to a green economy. Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing literature on Fama and French’s five-factor model of sustainability indexes, especially in the current context characterized by intense green political changes. In particular, this study complements the few studies that have addressed the economic implications of renewable energy indexes in markets.

scholarly journals Current context of transport sector in South Asia

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 490-505
Author(s):  
Champika Liyanage ◽  
Nuwan Dias ◽  
Dilanthi Amaratunga ◽  
Richard Haigh
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
South Asia ◽  
South Asian ◽  
Transportation System ◽  
Sustainable Transportation ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Content Type

Purpose Given the current focus on sustainable development, there is a need to identify the current status of the transport sector in developing countries and the obstacles to the development of a sustainable transport system. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to provide a critical review on what needs to be done in such countries towards a sustainable transportation system. The focus of the paper will be on the South Asian context. In order to achieve the aim, the paper examines the current issues, the policy context and the key actions required in the countries selected in South Asia (i.e. Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives and Nepal). Design/methodology/approach The main method used for the project was a combination of semi-structured interviews and focus groups. In addition, a policy analysis was also carried out with a use of secondary data. Altogether, 348 interviews and 16 focus groups (with 157 participants) were carried out in the selected six countries. Although the purpose of the research methods was to carry out a situational analysis of each country mentioned above on seven societal challenges identified under the EU’s Horizon 2020 research programme, this paper only focusses on presenting the findings relating to sustainable transport. Findings Findings reveal that South Asian countries need to improve different aspects of their transportation sector, starting from national-level transportation policies. Sustainable transportation is not merely about mobility but also about creating safer, convenient and environmentally friendly transportation systems. Some key actions needed for these include introducing driver and passenger safety regulations, establishing vehicle emissions test centres to reduce CO2 emissions, and introducing public-private partnerships where useful. Originality/value This study provides a robust policy direction towards the introduction/improvement of a sustainable transportation system in South Asian countries.

Does renewable energy promote green economic growth in OECD countries?

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 771-798 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dilvin Taşkın ◽  
Gülin Vardar ◽  
Berna Okan
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Trade Openness ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Renewable Energy Consumption ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The development of green economy is of academic and policy importance to governments and policymakers worldwide. In the light of the necessity of renewable energy to sustain green economic growth, this study aims to examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption and green economic growth, controlling for the impact of trade openness for Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries over the period 1990-2015, within a multivariate panel data framework. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the long-run relationship between variables, panel cointegration tests are performed. Panel Granger causality based on vector error correction models is adopted to understand the short- and long-run dynamics of the data. Furthermore, ordinary least square (OLS), dynamic OLS and fully modified OLS methods are used to confirm the long-run elasticity of green growth for renewable energy consumption and trade openness. Moreover, system generalized method of moment is applied to eliminate serial correlation, heteroscedasticity and endogeneity problems. The authors used the panel Granger causality test developed by Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) to infer the directionality of the causal relationship, allowing for both the cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity. Findings The results suggest that renewable energy consumption and trade openness exert positive effects on green economic growth. The results of long-run estimates of green economic growth reveal that the long-run elasticity of green economic growth for trade openness is much greater than for renewable energy consumption. The estimated results of the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) test reveal bidirectional causality between green economic growth and renewable energy consumption, providing support for the feedback hypothesis. Practical implications This paper provides strong evidence of the contribution of renewable energy consumption on green economy for a wide range of countries. Despite the costs of establishing renewable energy facilities, it is evident that these facilities contribute to the green growth of an economy. Governments and public authorities should promote the consumption of renewable energy and should have a support policy to promote an active renewable energy market. Furthermore, the regulators must constitute an efficient regulatory framework to favor the renewable energy consumption. Social implications Many countries focus on increasing their GDP without taking the environmental impacts of the growth process into account. This paper shows that renewable energy consumption points to the fact that countries can still increase their economic growth with minimal damage to environment. Despite the costs of adopting renewable energy technologies, there is still room for economic growth. Originality/value This paper provides evidence on the contribution of renewable energy consumption on green economic growth for a wide range of countries. The paper focuses on the impact of renewable energy on economic growth by taking environmental degradation into consideration on a wide scale of countries.

Modelling transition policy to a sustainable regional transport system

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 357-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aiga Barisa ◽  
Marika Roša
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Major Effect ◽  
Sustainable Transportation ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Political Commitment ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Alternative Fuel Vehicles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Baltic

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to address the difficulty of implementing the European Union renewable energy policy in the transport sector. The authors describe a case study illustrating the capacity of the three Baltic States to meet the binding target of 10 per cent renewable energy in the transport sector by 2020. Design/methodology/approach – An excel-based mathematical model is developed and applied to evaluate the effect of a selected set of measures according to the sustainable transportation concept. Findings – The findings demonstrate that the projected renewable energy targets in the transport sector of the Baltic States cannot be achieved without unwavering political commitment towards the promotion of alternative fuel vehicles. Increasing the share of mandatory biofuel blends has a major effect, however, it is not enough to meet the 10 per cent goal. Other measures such as lower transport demand and mode shift are included but do not offer significant benefits under a realistic scenario. Practical implications – The findings are expected to serve as a basis to conduct further studies into sustainable transport development in the Baltic region. Moreover, policy makers may find these results useful in formulating a national position. Originality/value – The methodology and the findings reported in this study could be also used for analysing renewable transport policies in other European countries.

Renewable Energy Resources for Better Economics and Sustainable Living in Rural and Desert Areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1165-1171
Author(s):  
Karl Gatterer ◽  
◽  
Salah Arafa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Energy Resources ◽  
Green Economy ◽  
Renewable Energy Resources ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Energy Materials ◽  
Sustainable Living ◽  
Sustainable Community Development ◽  
Access To Knowledge

Reliable and affordable energy is the key for the socio-economic development in rural and desert communities worldwide. While energy can be used for consumption purposes such as Lighting, Access to Information, Comfort and Entertainment, productive use of renewable energy is the key enabler for SMEs and Economy to grow. The paper examines the complex interactions among Energy, Materials, Water, Food, Building, Employment and Environment. It also discusses the implementation of renewable energy technologies to overcome some of barriers faced by rural villages and desert communities. It shows some of the special applications and approaches used over the past few decades in energy conversion, consumption and conservation to achieve poverty reduction, social justice and sustainable development. Field experiences in Basaisa projects, Egypt showed that open free dialogues with all stakeholders, site-specific education and training, appropriate local financing systems and access to knowledge are key-elements and essential factors for achieving green economy and sustainable community development. The coming decade will see a continued expansion of knowledge about renewable energy resources and its useful applications as systems friendly to the environment and as tools for economic activities, sustainable living and growth in rural and desert communities.

The many-objective optimal design of renewable energy cogeneration system

Energy ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 121244
Author(s):  
Yi He ◽  
Su Guo ◽  
Jianxu Zhou ◽  
Feng Wu ◽  
Jing Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Energy ◽  
Optimal Design ◽  
Cogeneration System ◽  
The Many

scholarly journals Teaching innovations in Asian higher education: perspectives of educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Many

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.

scholarly journals Environmental sustainability of the Nigeria transport sector through decomposition and decoupling analysis with future framework for sustainable transport pathways

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 3238-3248
Author(s):  
Fidelis I. Abam ◽  
Ekwe B. Ekwe ◽  
Ogheneruona E. Diemuodeke ◽  
Michael I. Ofem ◽  
Bassey B. Okon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Sustainable Transport ◽  
Transport Pathways ◽  
Decoupling Analysis

Risk perception and awareness of earthquake: the case of Dhaka

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Lutfur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Public Awareness ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Earthquake Preparedness ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
Seismic Risk Perception ◽  
The Many ◽  
And Behavior

Purpose Among the many studies about risk perception, only a few deal with Bangladesh. Paul and Bhuiyan’s (2010) study has shown the earthquake-preparedness level of residents of Dhaka, but there are some biases in the data collection. This paper aims to examine the seismic-risk perception and the level of knowledge on earthquake and preparedness among the residents of Dhaka. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was developed, and data collection was undertaken through home and sidewalk surveys. This paper investigates how attitude, perception and behavior differ depending on gender, age, education and casualty awareness. This research tries to examine and make a comparison of the risk perception and preparedness level between different groups of gender, age and level of education. Findings This research shows that female respondents have a much better risk perception of and are better prepared for earthquakes than male respondents; younger people have a higher knowledge about earthquake preparedness than older people and less-educated people are at a higher risk of unpreparedness than more-educated people. Research limitations/implications This research is only limited to the Dhaka Division. Originality/value This paper concludes by noting that public awareness on seismic-risk perception and mitigation is poor, and their knowledge on basic theory and emergency response must be improved.

The many faces of suzhi in the Chinese organization and society

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean Upton-McLaughlin
Keyword(s):  
Chinese Culture ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mainland Chinese ◽  
Foreign Companies ◽  
Expatriate Managers ◽  
The Many ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to explore the Chinese concept of suzhi and how it relates to behavioral standards within mainland Chinese society and the workplace. The article provides a general discussion of suzhi and its inherent elements to act as a foundation for the education of expatriate managers and executives and for future research by Chinese human resource management (HRM) scholars. Design/methodology/approach – This paper draws on the author's first-hand experience and observations from five years of living and working abroad in mainland China with Chinese companies and executives. Findings – The concept of suzhi in China is a reflection of multiple behavioral standards throughout China. And while suzhi's roots are in ancient Chinese culture and Confucianism, it is also subject to influence and change. Practical implications – The paper may serve as a foundation both for expatriate managers seeking to improve HRM practices in foreign companies in China and future scholars who wish to conduct further research on suzhi and Chinese behavioral standards as they can be applied to the workplace. Originality/value – This is an attempt to enlighten expatriate managers and executives in China on the concept of suzhi and its implication for HRM in China.

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