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Improper exploitation of water resources has caused a water crisis and a challenge for water resource management around the world, especially in desert cities with vulnerable landscapes. Ecological wisdom is evident in the ancient desert cities of Iran, based on Qanat Hydraulic Structures (QHS). For long, QHS has been the main water transmission system from long-distance resources to cities in hot-arid regions. This study aimed to explore the ecological wisdom of ancient QHS and to empower it with the current social values, which may be applied as a rational normative approach to create balance between the landscape ecological integrity and development processes. We first investigated scientific databases to extract the principles of ecological wisdom and the theoretical framework. In the next stage, we conducted field studies to extract the social and ecological principles and rules, governing the workable pattern of structure and function of QHS in the desert city of Yazd, Iran, as a case study. Next, the comparative–deductive method was used for comparing the principles of ecological wisdom with the rules governing the corridor networks of QHS. Finally, we compared the compatibility of ecological wisdom principles governing QHS with the criteria and sub-criteria of landscape sustainability in Yazd. The results revealed that ecological wisdom can provide a framework to integrate the traditional knowledge of QHS in scientific ecological knowledge and social system of cities toward sustainable water resource planning and sustainable landscaping.

The carbon emission abatement within supply chain is an important part of the realization of carbon emission reduction target. This paper first establishes a supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer and then proposes three modes of carbon abatement under carbon tax mechanism, namely carbon abatement by manufacturer alone (M-mode), by retailer alone (R-mode) and by manufacturer and retailer jointly (J-mode). Based on profit maximization, the Stackelberg game model is adopted to get the optimal decisions, and then, the optimization results under three modes are compared and the sensitivity analyses are carried out. The results show that the impacts of carbon tax on the manufacturer profit and retailer profit under three modes are complex and subject to the changes in the external environment. The carbon abatement level, the market demand, the profit of manufacturer and retailer are all the highest under J-mode, and hence, the J-mode is the optimal choice for the manufacturer and retailer. The management insight is that the firms and the government should increase the publicity of low-carbon products to improve the greenness of products, the market demand, profits and social welfare. The government should consider the external environment to set different levels of carbon tax according to different targets.

Lubrication is a procedure that involves the use of a chemical called lubricant to reduce wear on surfaces that are in relative motion with each other. It aids in the transmission of pressure created between opposing surfaces. Lubricants serve as anti-friction agents. They allow for flat-level operations by retaining superior machine functionality and reducing the likelihood of recurring breakdowns. In today's world, the price of crude oil is rising in tandem with the depletion of reservoirs (oil). As a result, protecting a pollution-free environment is a major responsibility. The focus of current research is on creating and using an ecologically friendly lubricant made from renewable resources. This paper discusses the preparation, characteristics, characterization advantages, and uses of vegetable oil-based non-edible lubricants. Chemical changes are required since vegetable oil-based lubricants have lower thermal and oxidative stability. The article explores the required chemical modification approaches for improving the properties of bio-lubricants. The characterization of bio-lubricants has been elaborately discussed, highlighting the major pros and cons. The drawbacks and also future scope of the bio-lubricants have been highlighted.

Considering the increase in the stakeholders’ supervision and the change of production processes, sustainable development plays a crucial role in the survival of businesses. In order to achieve sustainable development, the circular economy (CE) seeks to manage the flow of materials and energy to closed-loop systems. Circular economy has led to the formation of sustainable business models. Artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities change work activities, data flows, and organizational processes. The purpose of this study is to identify the impact of adoption of AI on circular economy practices in the organization. The research questions include: What are the factors affecting the adoption of AI in manufacturing companies? What effect does the adoption of AI have on the CE practices in the organization? In the first phase, research constructs are identified and a conceptual model is developed based on previous studies. In the second phase, the research model is evaluated among 97 manufacturing companies in the Middle East. Structural equation model and Smart PLS software have been used for data analysis. The findings show that the technology characteristics, organizational capabilities and external task environment have an effect on adoption of AI, and adoption of AI has a positive effect on circular economy practices. Based on the results, AI technology can be a solution to change the production process and reduce the destructive effects of industry on the environment. Managers of manufacturing companies can use the capabilities of machine learning, intelligence and neural networks to manage resources and optimize product production.

Are all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa equally benefiting from the deployment of Information and Communications Technology and economic globalization? In order to provide an answer to this question, the present study examined the impacts of Information and Communications Technology and economic globalisation on the growth of per capita GDP in 44 countries of the Sub-Saharan Africa region during 2004–2019. This study uses the neoclassical Aggregate Production Function, which incorporates a comprehensive measure of Information and Communications Technology infrastructure and economic globalization. In general, Moments Quantile methods indicate that despite economic globalization and Information and Communications Technology services having statistically significant positive effects on growth, the effects are negligible. A more important finding is that the impact of Information and Communications Technology and economic globalization on growth diminished as per capita GDP increased. Comparatively to countries with relatively higher growth rates in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, countries with lower growth rates will benefit more from expanding their Information and Communications Technology sector and globallyizing their local economies. Accordingly, countries with relatively lower per capita GDP growth in the Sub-Saharan Africa region need to allocate more resources to develop their Information and Communications Technology sector and continue to integrate their local economies with global markets.

Agriculture in South Asia is highly vulnerable to climate change due to increasing variability in rainfall and rising temperatures leading to the incidence of extreme climatic events such as floods, droughts, heat/cold waves, and storms. Agriculture sector also contributes to the causes of climate change through the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs). Hence, adaptation-led mitigation measures are required to sustain agricultural productivity, farm income and reduce GHG emissions wherever possible. This study presents a systematic review of agriculture emission reduction opportunities with a particular focus on agricultural production systems in South Asia. Our review indicates that the adoption of better soil, water, nutrient management practices, and technologies has enormous potential to reduce GHG emissions from agriculture, thereby contributing to the mitigation of climate change. Many existing practices and technologies have the potential to improve both adaptation and mitigation in agriculture which can significantly contribute to complying with nationally determined contributions (NDCs) of South Asian countries. However, barriers to the adoption of GHG mitigating agricultural practices, mainly the financial and institutional barriers, need to be appropriately addressed to achieve the desired level of mitigation.

Laws are a reflection of people, governments, civilisation and time. Today, except for respiratory oxygen, everything is regulated. Though the early history of law was not codified, communities were aware of the laws, which enabled effective implementation and successes. Between 1991 and 2002, the environmental era was born with a view to regulate people, their activities and environment. This era was sanctified by legislations which were more of amended traditional and local laws. In South Africa, legislations were enacted to regulate the environment collectively and mining activities specifically. These legislations were intended to bring about changes in mining practices, improved working and living conditions of miners and community sustainability. With increasing environmental concerns and protest in mining communities, there is a need to review the efficiency of these legislations. The purpose of this paper is to review community legal awareness through education and communication of prevailing South African mining legislations, in which it has been argued that adequate level of awareness will ensure communities as active participants in decision-making and will bring about changes in mining practices and community well-being. The paper, in the form of a case study, using social research methodology and blended analysis, presents findings that local communities are less aware of current mining legislations which are applicable only at workplace and even the miners are less conversant with its application. Therefore, any activity out of workplace forfeits the legal cover. The paper concluded that inadequate community legal awareness is among the causes of failures to experience any significant changes in mining practices and community welfare. It recommends environmental legal awareness as a fundamental requirement for sustainability.

Cap-and-trade regulation (CTR) is universally considered as one of the most environmentally friendly approaches to reducing carbon emission. In this paper, the newsvendor with a warranty service is regarded as the benchmark model firstly. Then, we study extended models about the newsvendor’s carbon footprint under CTR in the carbon trading market. Specifically, the carbon footprint exists in the four stages: production, sale, residual disposal, and return warranty service. And we adopt low-carbon technologies to improve the carbon footprint. Thirdly, we derive the newsvendor’s optimal production quantity, emission abatement level, and the expected profit. Interestingly, improving the carbon footprint in the sale and return warranty stages leads to a sharply higher profit in the carbon trading market. Finally, results and discussion are addressed in detail by numerical examples. We discover that optimal production quantity with an improved carbon footprint is larger than that with an original carbon footprint and earns more. Besides, the warranty service cost is negatively related to both the newsvendor’s optimal production quantity and profit. In the carbon trading market, the newsvendor is supposed to improve carbon footprint by carbon reduction investment. Besides, carbon quotas provided by the government do no affect the optimal production quantity but affects the profit of carbon trade.

It is essential to explore the optimal environmental regulation policy combination for high-quality economic development due to the mutual constraints and confrontation between environmental regulation policies. Based on provincial panel data of China from 2000 to 2019, this study uses the spatial Durbin model to examine the synergy effect of different environmental regulation policy combinations on high-quality economic development from the dual perspective of local effects and spillover effect of environmental regulation, respectively. Furthermore, it explores the threshold effect of environmental regulation policy synergy on high-quality economic development through technological innovation at provincial level as well as in three major regions of China using the threshold regression model. The results indicate that environmental regulation policy synergy has a spatial spillover effect on high-quality economic development, and there is a positive U-shaped relationship with them no matter which policy combination. However, there are significant differences in the local effects and spillover effects of environmental regulation policy synergy under different policy combinations. Moreover, there is a double threshold for environmental regulation policy synergy effect on high-quality economic development except in central China, which policy combinations of 13 and 23 have a single threshold effect, while the other policy combinations have no threshold effect. Finally, the optimal environmental regulation policy combination for high-quality economic development is given through comparative analysis. In response to the above conclusions, this paper puts forward the targeted policy implications.