Does the Clean Air Action Really Affect Labor Demand in China?

How to balance resources, environment, and economic growth to achieve sustainable development is a challenge for developing countries. In 2013, China implemented a high-stringency environmental regulation—the Clean Air Action, which has effectively controlled air pollution. To explore the economic cost of environmental regulation, this paper investigates the policy effect on employment in the industrial sector. However, there are still controversies about whether environmental regulations impact employment. Based on the city-level data and firm-level data, this study applied a quasi-natural experiment for policy evaluation and used the mediating effect model for mechanism analysis. The difference-in-difference estimation results show that environmental regulation has a significant impact on employment. The mechanism analysis verifies that output adjustment, capital input, and green innovation are the main channels, by which environmental regulation distresses employment. The findings of this paper could be extended to other countries at a similar stage of development.

Effects of Increased Renewable Energy Consumption on Electricity Prices: Evidence for Six South American Countries

This research examines the relationship between renewable energy consumption and electricity prices in six South American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru). The methodology used is a panel econometric model with annual data for the period 1990–2015. The results show that the consumption of renewable energies influences the price of electricity paid by households, although its influence is very moderate. On the other hand, it was observed that the consumption of renewable energies has no relationship with the energy prices of the industrial sector and the commercial and services sector. In the countries analyzed, an increase in GDP causes an increase in the price of energy in the industrial sector. With more CO2 emissions and a rise in the international price of oil, the annual average price of the industrial sector decreases.

Structural Convergence between African Countries: Empirical Evidence

This paper aims to investigate structural convergence in selected African countries over the period 1994-2019. Using panel data for 48 African countries and several estimation methods [Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE), Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS), tobit model, instrumental variable, and Granger non-causality], the results show the existence of the phenomenon of sectoral structural convergence in Africa, i.e. a greater similarity in sectoral structures while income gaps are narrowing. The paper also highlights the service sector's low relative productivity level and industrial sector's low labor force attractiveness despite a significant shift in labor from the agricultural sector and a higher level of relative productivity respectively. To address this issue, the development and acquisition of human and physical capital would be necessary to develop the industrial sector and increase the service sector's productivity.

Statistical and Artificial Neural Networks Models for Electricity Consumption Forecasting in the Brazilian Industrial Sector

Forecasting the industry’s electricity consumption is essential for energy planning in a given country or region. Thus, this study aims to apply time-series forecasting models (statistical approach and artificial neural network approach) to the industrial electricity consumption in the Brazilian system. For the statistical approach, the Holt–Winters, SARIMA, Dynamic Linear Model, and TBATS (Trigonometric Box–Cox transform, ARMA errors, Trend, and Seasonal components) models were considered. For the approach of artificial neural networks, the NNAR (neural network autoregression) and MLP (multilayer perceptron) models were considered. The results indicate that the MLP model was the one that obtained the best forecasting performance for the electricity consumption of the Brazilian industry under analysis.

CBAM and Russian export

The EU is expected to introduce the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in 2026. The estimates of the resulting Russia’s economic loss, that can be found in the literature, appear to be blown up, static, and not directly related to the change in the incomes of Russian exporters. These estimates are driven by the authors’ speculations, rather than by the CBAM concept as announced by the EU. This paper aims to assess the potential implications of CBAM for the Russian raw materials exports. CBAM will launch a carbon intensity reduction race for industrial products. Those who will not be able to keep abreast of the leaders will be losing their market niches. Because Russia is freezing its current carbon intensity levels, it will see its CBAM exports shrink and, small at the beginning, export incomes reduction may gradually become substantial. At the same time, proactive GHG emission control in the industrial sector can help avoid the loss and even yield additional income.

Industrial Buildings with Zero Energy Consumption: Cathedral Warehouse for Sherry Wines

The industrial sector needs solutions and strategies that allow buildings to reduce their energy consumption and develop their daily business activities. This paper discusses the long-term monitoring measures of indoor thermal conditions in a warehouse with zero energy consumption. The objective is to promote the use of passive design strategies within the industrial sector by analyzing an example of the feasibility of achieving controlled environmental conditions with zero energy consumption. In total, more than a million data points were processed and analyzed in different periods of the year. Experimental measurements showed strong gradients in the vertical distribution of temperature, this being a key aspect of the general behavior of the indoor environment of the warehouse. A standard comparison variable was developed to quantify the monthly and daily evolution of vertical stratification of the air to explain in detail the thermal behavior of the warehouse throughout the year. The results showed the efficacy of the design of these constructions to mitigate the high temperatures typical in a Mediterranean-Oceanic climate. This example of ingenuity in passive design demonstrates how, by combining the right strategies, the desired conditions can be obtained without any energy consumption.

Information Activity of a Large European Project in Social Media

Purpose: The aim of the article is to present the information activity of a large European project based on information policy in social media. Social media are an excellent means of reaching a wide audience, while activity in this sphere reflects the degree of organisation of project partners and their involvement in achieving the project`s objectives. Design/methodology/approach: The present paper makes use of the experience gained while promoting the results of the GoSmart BSR project via social media. The GoSmart BSR project is concerned with enhancing the low capacity for innovation in less developed Baltic Sea Regions (BSR) through mutual learning, translating smart specialisation strategies (S3) into practical joint activities of small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and applying best practices used in better developed regions. The project is fully integrated with 3S and aims at promoting efficient co-operation between the industrial sector, the R&D sector, and the authorities, following a transnational approach. Findings: Social media play a significant role in the three phases of the project life, i.e. disseminating knowledge (raising awareness), collecting and verifying information that has been acquired during the project, and storing and disseminating the knowledge acquired during the project. Originality/value: research on Social Media profiles is predominantly descriptive and focused on the organizational perspective all projects R&D. This research paper contributes to both theory and practice by studying the causal impact of these guidelines on research teams.

Smart Grid Implementation of the Industrial Sector

In the development of smart grid solutions, the contribution of industrial consumers is prime essential to ensure the energy system transformation. The present article introduces a covenant with the implementation of an economic dispatch (ED) in the electrical framework with the smart grid. The proposed ED strategy is comprised of two steps; the first step includes the swarm optimization technique of energy ED with the net loss of the power system and the second step consists of an ED that considers the cutoff points of system security. The prime goal of the second step is to minimize the net loss and the foundation development of the generator cost function. The test framework is comprised of four generators with one battery storage apparatus that considers the energy demand. The ED will perform for 24 hours. The test results show that the two-step ED technique not only reduces system losses but also the fuel consumption of the system as well. This article gives ideas to the industrial consumers to implement a smart grid in the industrial sector.