Frontiers in Environmental Science | New and Recent Articles

IntroductionShadow economy (SE) is an important feature of economic activity, yet excessive informality may undermine environmental sustainability by weakening regulatory compliance. While green energy (GE) is central to climate policy and sustainable development, the relationship between GE, SE, and ecological footprint (EFP) remains insufficiently examined in advanced economies. This study inve…

To cope with climate change, achieve China’s dual-carbon goals and advance the aviation industry’s net-zero emissions roadmap for 2050, SAF is regarded as the core emission reduction pathway for China’s aviation sector. This study develops a forecasting framework for civil aircraft and projects China’s civil aircraft fleet size and SAF demand from 2026 to 2050. Meanwhile, adopting the Life Cycle …

We examine how firm-level climate risk affects cross-border merger and acquisition (M&A) initiation using 54,389 firm-year observations for Chinese A-share listed firms from 2000 to 2023. The results show that higher climate risk is associated with a significantly lower probability of initiating cross-border M&A. This finding remains robust across alternative measures, clustering levels, …

As an important component of the EU’s “Fit for 55” package, Emission Trading System II (ETS2) is designed to drive emission reductions in sectors including road transport and buildings. To explore how the ETS2 policy affects carbon emission within the road transport sector, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving government, fuel suppliers, and road transport enterprise…

The interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, antimicrobial resistance, zoonotic diseases emergence, animal welfare concerns, and the rising burden of non-communicable diseases require food-system responses that extend beyond individual nutrition. This narrative review synthesizes evidence on plant-based and plant-forward dietary transitions within the One Health framework, with…

Introduction Retained dwellings in depopulating coastal settlements may remain socially claimed and available for return or reuse after year-round occupation declines. This study conceptualises seasonal housing vacancy as a rhythmic land-use relation in which dwellings move among closure, repair, return, leasing, and seasonal operation, and examines its implications for coastal land governance.Me…

IntroductionWhether digital technologies can deliver productivity leaps while safeguarding environmental bottom lines is a core issue shaping the path of high-quality development.MethodsUsing the pilot demonstration projects of Industrial Internet Construction (IIC) as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper systematically investigates the dual effects of IIC on enterprises’ new quality productivi…

Over the past decade, Israel achieved substantial reductions in emissions from electricity generation, transport, and regulated industry through coal-to-gas transition, solar expansion, and stringent emission standards. Despite these gains, ambient air pollution remains the country’s leading environmental health burden, causing an estimated 4,641–6,166 premature deaths annually with economic loss…

Ecological restoration is widely promoted as a scalable response to climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. Yet many technically feasible initiatives do not expand beyond pilot sites or endure after external support ends. This conceptual analysis examines how localized configurations of norms, authority, identity, hierarchy, and tenure shape restoration legitimacy and restoration…

Prescribed fires, associated to extensive cattle raising, and the expansion of crop agriculture are two of the main threats to the integrity and functionality of páramo ecosystems in the Northern Andes. In addition to affecting plant and animal communities, these practices could significantly affect soil carbon storage and hydrological regulation. In this study, we present results from a field ex…

IntroductionLand use and land cover (LULC) change is rapidly redrawing the environmental landscape of coastal Bangladesh.MethodsThis study integrates Landsat-based classification, machine learning-based approaches, and Markov Chain simulation to assess historical and future LULC dynamics in Chattogram District.ResultsRandom Forest classification achieved overall accuracies of 95.96%, 90.45%, and …

Nature-based solutions (NBS) restore green spaces and natural hydrological cycle reducing runoff generation, promoting infiltration or exfiltration and evapotranspiration (ET). ET governs much of hydrological and microclimatic functioning of urban NBS, yet it remains inconsistently measured, modelled and reported accross the literature. This review critically evaluates ET measurement and modellin…

IntroductionRapid peri-urban expansion poses significant challenges, including spatial inequality, ecological degradation, and mismatches between land development and public-service provision. Addressing these issues requires integrated planning approaches that balance multiple sustainability dimensions. This study aims to evaluate alternative pathways for constructing a “good urban area” in Nans…

Introduction Climate variability threatens water availability, agricultural and livestock productivity, and rural wellbeing in the Andean-Amazon transition zone, one of the most vulnerable areas of the Amazon basin, yet most participatory studies of local climate perception in the region remain descriptive.MethodsThis study analyzed the effects of local climate variability indicators on the socio…

This study analysed the influence of socio-economic factors such as income, number of people in a household, education level, age, and gender of the household head on the quantity and composition of solid waste generated in Kampala City. Three areas: Bwaise I (low-income), Bukoto I (medium-income), and Ggaba (high-income) were considered. A quantitative, source-sampling approach was adopted, invo…

Urban flooding is one of the most recurrent and destructive natural hazards affecting rapidly urbanizing cities in developing countries. Pakistan faces a severe and growing urban flood challenge, yet spatially explicit, multi-dimensional resilience assessments remain scarce for fast-growing secondary cities. This study assessed urban flood resilience in Abbottabad City, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakist…

Mediterranean dryland sheep farms face interconnected challenges of high greenhouse gas emission intensity and progressive land degradation driven by continuous, unmanaged grazing. Rotational grazing (RG) has been proposed as an integrated response, but field evidence documenting the climate outcomes of real farm-level grazing management transitions remains scarce. This study quantifies the carbo…

Social-Ecological Systems (SESs) are shaped by complex interactions between natural processes, governance structures, environmental pressures, and human perceptions. To evaluate these multidimensional dynamics in diverse transboundary coastal areas, this study presents the first application of the Conservation and Human Use Index (CHUI) across ten case studies representing contrasting ecological,…

Rapid urbanization poses significant challenges to regional sustainable development, particularly in coastal urban agglomerations balancing economic growth and ecological protection. As a vital engine of the Yellow River Basin, the Shandong Peninsula Urban Agglomeration (SDPUA) faces marked spatio-temporal disparities and eco-environmental pressures. Assessing its sustainability and understanding…

IntroductionEnvironmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure has become an important component of environmental governance, yet its credibility remains a concern in emerging markets. This study examines whether firm-specific environmental enforcement actions are associated with subsequent stock price crash risk among Chinese listed firms.MethodsUsing 18,392 firm-year observations from 2009 …