Pub Date : 2026-01-08DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108328
Zifu Liu , Xiaoxiao Shen , Fan Xia , Bing Zhang
Decentralized environmental management often leads to local protectionism and inconsistent policy enforcement, resulting in strategic regulatory behavior and a failure to address interjurisdictional externalities. This study examines whether centralizing environmental governance helps mitigate these problems, using a vertical management system reform of environmental governance agencies below the province level in Jiangsu Province, China. We analyze the reform's impact by comparing changes in environmental enforcement at jurisdictional borders with those in inland areas. Leveraging novel, geocoded firm-level panel data on environmental inspections, we find that the centralization reform has strengthened enforcement at jurisdictional borders, increasing environmental warnings and penalties on border firms by 10.5 % ∼ 13.4 % relative to inland firms. Our findings suggest that centralizing environmental management improves environmental outcomes by curbing local governments' free-riding behavior and strengthening enforcement efforts.
{"title":"Centralized environmental management: Strengthening enforcement at jurisdictional boundaries","authors":"Zifu Liu , Xiaoxiao Shen , Fan Xia , Bing Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108328","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108328","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Decentralized environmental management often leads to local protectionism and inconsistent policy enforcement, resulting in strategic regulatory behavior and a failure to address interjurisdictional externalities. This study examines whether centralizing environmental governance helps mitigate these problems, using a vertical management system reform of environmental governance agencies below the province level in Jiangsu Province, China. We analyze the reform's impact by comparing changes in environmental enforcement at jurisdictional borders with those in inland areas. Leveraging novel, geocoded firm-level panel data on environmental inspections, we find that the centralization reform has strengthened enforcement at jurisdictional borders, increasing environmental warnings and penalties on border firms by 10.5 % ∼ 13.4 % relative to inland firms. Our findings suggest that centralizing environmental management improves environmental outcomes by curbing local governments' free-riding behavior and strengthening enforcement efforts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108328"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-07DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108326
José A. Albaladejo-García , María D. Medina-Vidal , Julia Martin-Ortega , Francisco Alcon
Amongst the multiple advantages attributed to nature-based solutions (NBS) over conventional and grey infrastructure, is their characterisation as economically efficient, i.e. that the benefits that they generate outweigh their costs. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid so far to generating quantified evidence to support this claim in the form of comprehensive cost-benefit analysis informing actual and specific environmental decisions in given territories. In the absence of such evidence, current enthusiasm for NBS might result in unfavourable decisions, disappointment and abandonment. In this paper, we illustrate a co-constructed approach developed in close collaboration with policy-makers and involving a range of stakeholders. This approach formally evaluates the well-being impacts of adopting NBS versus non-NBS alternatives for the mitigation of agricultural impacts in the ecologically stressed Mar Menor lagoon (Spain), building-up the evidence base of the economic efficiency of NBS. More importantly, the paper illustrates how to undertake rapid economic impact assessments that, when exposed and co-constructed with a range of stakeholders in participatory processes, can support complex policy decisions in response to climate and environmental emergencies in ways that are robust, transparent and socially acceptable. By maintaining scientific rigor while simplifying data demands, rapid co-constructed economic impact assessments can not only integrate ecosystem services and economic efficiency reasoning into environmental governance but can also serve as boundary objects for consensus building, awareness raising and collective experiential learning. This is of particularly critical importance in times of growing polarisation over environmental challenges.
{"title":"Rapid economic impact assessment of nature-based solutions: Illustration of a co-constructed approach","authors":"José A. Albaladejo-García , María D. Medina-Vidal , Julia Martin-Ortega , Francisco Alcon","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108326","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108326","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Amongst the multiple advantages attributed to nature-based solutions (NBS) over conventional and grey infrastructure, is their characterisation as economically efficient, i.e. that the benefits that they generate outweigh their costs. However, surprisingly little attention has been paid so far to generating quantified evidence to support this claim in the form of comprehensive cost-benefit analysis informing <em>actual</em> and <em>specific</em> environmental decisions in given territories. In the absence of such evidence, current enthusiasm for NBS might result in unfavourable decisions, disappointment and abandonment. In this paper, we illustrate a co-constructed approach developed in close collaboration with policy-makers and involving a range of stakeholders. This approach formally evaluates the well-being impacts of adopting NBS <em>versus</em> non-NBS alternatives for the mitigation of agricultural impacts in the ecologically stressed Mar Menor lagoon (Spain), building-up the evidence base of the economic efficiency of NBS. More importantly, the paper illustrates how to undertake rapid economic impact assessments that, when exposed and co-constructed with a range of stakeholders in participatory processes, can support complex policy decisions in response to climate and environmental emergencies in ways that are robust, transparent and socially acceptable. By maintaining scientific rigor while simplifying data demands, rapid co-constructed economic impact assessments can not only integrate ecosystem services and economic efficiency reasoning into environmental governance but can also serve as boundary objects for consensus building, awareness raising and collective experiential learning. This is of particularly critical importance in times of growing polarisation over environmental challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108326"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145921145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-06DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108327
Mario Burgui-Burgui , Marta Rodríguez-Rey , María Jesús Such-Devesa , Imaculada Aguado-Suárez , María Jesús Salado-García
This study examines the carbon footprint of tourists using a bottom-up approach that enables detailed and personalised measurement. Based on a survey of a representative sample of 980 Spanish tourists, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were assessed across different categories of consumption and transport. The results indicate that transport accounts for the largest proportion of CO₂ emissions (almost half of the total), followed by food expenditure, tourism activities and accommodation. The analysis also reveals differences in carbon footprint according to sociodemographic factors such as age, income and education level, emphasising that transport, especially in international destinations, is a major source of emissions. This study helps to identify consumption patterns that can inform the design of policies aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of Spanish tourists.
{"title":"The carbon footprint of Spanish tourists. Determinants and consumption patterns.","authors":"Mario Burgui-Burgui , Marta Rodríguez-Rey , María Jesús Such-Devesa , Imaculada Aguado-Suárez , María Jesús Salado-García","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108327","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2026.108327","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the carbon footprint of tourists using a bottom-up approach that enables detailed and personalised measurement. Based on a survey of a representative sample of 980 Spanish tourists, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were assessed across different categories of consumption and transport. The results indicate that transport accounts for the largest proportion of CO₂ emissions (almost half of the total), followed by food expenditure, tourism activities and accommodation. The analysis also reveals differences in carbon footprint according to sociodemographic factors such as age, income and education level, emphasising that transport, especially in international destinations, is a major source of emissions. This study helps to identify consumption patterns that can inform the design of policies aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of Spanish tourists.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108327"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145920765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-06DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108324
Qingling Wang , Han Zhang , Meng Li , Heran Zheng
The Chinese Dietary Guidelines (CDG) establish benchmarks for healthy dietary transitions. Yet complying with CDG can be expensive, putting the recommended diet out of reach for many low-income populations. Previous studies assume universal adoption of CDG, overlooking food affordability concerns and thereby biasing environmental impact estimates of dietary transitions. This study integrates affordability as an economic constraint into the traditional CDG to formulate optimized versions for China's rural populations. Using the recent household consumption data (2015) and a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model, we estimate four environmental footprints of their anticipated dietary shifts. We found that neglecting affordability constraints can lead to an overestimation of environmental burdens related to GHG emissions (0.49 Gt CO₂-eq), land use (25.29 kha), and eutrophication (1.85 Mt PO₄-eq), while underestimating the benefits in water use, which could potentially save 0.24 Bm3. On average, when affordability constraints are incorporated, the estimated environmental footprint of expected dietary transitions is approximately 38.4 % (95% CI: 37.6–40.0 %) lower than that of the original CDG scenario. Dairy and beef collectively account for 44.2–83.3 % of this reduction, which is mainly attributable to rural populations' limited food budgets. Our findings highlight that incorporating affordability considerations for vulnerable populations is essential in promoting healthy dietary practices. Such integration is crucial not only for enhancing the real-world adoption of official guidelines but also for providing reliable evaluations of the environmental impacts linked to food system transformations.
{"title":"Ignoring food affordability biases environmental assessments of China's healthy diet transition","authors":"Qingling Wang , Han Zhang , Meng Li , Heran Zheng","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108324","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The Chinese Dietary Guidelines (CDG) establish benchmarks for healthy dietary transitions. Yet complying with CDG can be expensive, putting the recommended diet out of reach for many low-income populations. Previous studies assume universal adoption of CDG, overlooking food affordability concerns and thereby biasing environmental impact estimates of dietary transitions. This study integrates affordability as an economic constraint into the traditional CDG to formulate optimized versions for China's rural populations. Using the recent household consumption data (2015) and a multi-regional input-output (MRIO) model, we estimate four environmental footprints of their anticipated dietary shifts. We found that neglecting affordability constraints can lead to an overestimation of environmental burdens related to GHG emissions (0.49 Gt CO₂-eq), land use (25.29 kha), and eutrophication (1.85 Mt PO₄-eq), while underestimating the benefits in water use, which could potentially save 0.24 Bm<sup>3</sup>. On average, when affordability constraints are incorporated, the estimated environmental footprint of expected dietary transitions is approximately 38.4 % (95% CI: 37.6–40.0 %) lower than that of the original CDG scenario. Dairy and beef collectively account for 44.2–83.3 % of this reduction, which is mainly attributable to rural populations' limited food budgets. Our findings highlight that incorporating affordability considerations for vulnerable populations is essential in promoting healthy dietary practices. Such integration is crucial not only for enhancing the real-world adoption of official guidelines but also for providing reliable evaluations of the environmental impacts linked to food system transformations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108324"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145921143","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-05DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108322
Dengcheng Han , David Z. Zhu , Guohe Huang , Sichen Gao
Sustainable development worldwide has been seriously influenced by the disturbance of global supply chains resulting from dynamic international events such as tariff disputes, global epidemics, and regional trade agreements. Amidst efforts to advance global sustainability, events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the Sino-US trade war have reshaped the landscape. Thus, the interactive impacts of multiple events on the achievements of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) selected from economic-environmental perspectives (EESDGs, including 13 targets across 10 goals) will be assessed in this study. The alteration of global supply chains among countries and the challenge of regional economy and environment will be emphasized, deepening the understanding of the mechanism behind EESDG changes. Our results suggest that the global pandemic has the weakest negative effect on national EESDG performance (∼1 %), while trade and energy restrictions between the European Union and Russia lead to a much larger reduction (∼7 %). Continued China–United States trade frictions are associated with decreases by ∼4 % for the United States and ∼ 2 % for China. In contrast, the regional trading agreement appears to generate positive effects (2.5–3.6 %). When all four events occur together, the most affected country experiences an overall reduction by ∼5 %. By delivering a comprehensive analysis of both the barriers and potential pathways forward, this study provides valuable insights into seeking effective policies to foster a more sustainable future.
{"title":"A decade of disruption: The threat of international events to global economic and environmental sustainability","authors":"Dengcheng Han , David Z. Zhu , Guohe Huang , Sichen Gao","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108322","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108322","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Sustainable development worldwide has been seriously influenced by the disturbance of global supply chains resulting from dynamic international events such as tariff disputes, global epidemics, and regional trade agreements. Amidst efforts to advance global sustainability, events like the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and the Sino-US trade war have reshaped the landscape. Thus, the interactive impacts of multiple events on the achievements of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) selected from economic-environmental perspectives (EESDGs, including 13 targets across 10 goals) will be assessed in this study. The alteration of global supply chains among countries and the challenge of regional economy and environment will be emphasized, deepening the understanding of the mechanism behind EESDG changes. Our results suggest that the global pandemic has the weakest negative effect on national EESDG performance (∼1 %), while trade and energy restrictions between the European Union and Russia lead to a much larger reduction (∼7 %). Continued China–United States trade frictions are associated with decreases by ∼4 % for the United States and ∼ 2 % for China. In contrast, the regional trading agreement appears to generate positive effects (2.5–3.6 %). When all four events occur together, the most affected country experiences an overall reduction by ∼5 %. By delivering a comprehensive analysis of both the barriers and potential pathways forward, this study provides valuable insights into seeking effective policies to foster a more sustainable future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108322"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145921144","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-01-02DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108325
Zijie Zhang, Yishuai Ma, Jinhui Jeanne Huang
Rapid environmental impact assessment (EIA) of urban development traditionally relies on static indicators that fail to capture cumulative effects and sustainability transitions. We develop an innovative impact assessment framework using dissolved organic carbon (DOC) storage as a sensitive environmental indicator to evaluate the cumulative impacts of economic development policies. Our methodology integrates 36 years (1987–2022) of Landsat-derived chromophoric dissolved organic matter data, lake bathymetry, landscape pattern analysis, and composite socioeconomic indices to quantify column-integrated DOC dynamics in China's Chaohu Lake. The framework reveals that while DOC storage declined overall (−0.065 g m−2 yr−1), landscape drivers dominated system responses, with grassland degradation (29.5 %) and fragmentation (16.3 %) emerging as primary impact factors. Critically, our Tapio decoupling analysis exposes hidden sustainability trade-offs: long-term strong decoupling between DOC loss and urbanization indices demonstrated “green development” effectiveness, yet rapid industrial restructuring policies (2017–2018) triggered expansive coupling and negative decoupling states, temporarily reversing environmental gains. This methodological advancement transforms EIA from reactive project evaluation to proactive sustainability monitoring, establishing lake carbon storage as a transferable early-warning indicator for policy-environment interactions. The framework enables planners to quantitatively assess whether economic transitions remain within planetary carbon limits while advancing Sustainable Development Goal 11, providing a paradigm shift towards adaptive EIA for sustainable urban development.
{"title":"Lake carbon storage as environmental impact indicator: A multi-decadal assessment framework for evaluating sustainable development pathways","authors":"Zijie Zhang, Yishuai Ma, Jinhui Jeanne Huang","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108325","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108325","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rapid environmental impact assessment (EIA) of urban development traditionally relies on static indicators that fail to capture cumulative effects and sustainability transitions. We develop an innovative impact assessment framework using dissolved organic carbon (DOC) storage as a sensitive environmental indicator to evaluate the cumulative impacts of economic development policies. Our methodology integrates 36 years (1987–2022) of Landsat-derived chromophoric dissolved organic matter data, lake bathymetry, landscape pattern analysis, and composite socioeconomic indices to quantify column-integrated DOC dynamics in China's Chaohu Lake. The framework reveals that while DOC storage declined overall (−0.065 g m<sup>−2</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup>), landscape drivers dominated system responses, with grassland degradation (29.5 %) and fragmentation (16.3 %) emerging as primary impact factors. Critically, our Tapio decoupling analysis exposes hidden sustainability trade-offs: long-term strong decoupling between DOC loss and urbanization indices demonstrated “green development” effectiveness, yet rapid industrial restructuring policies (2017–2018) triggered expansive coupling and negative decoupling states, temporarily reversing environmental gains. This methodological advancement transforms EIA from reactive project evaluation to proactive sustainability monitoring, establishing lake carbon storage as a transferable early-warning indicator for policy-environment interactions. The framework enables planners to quantitatively assess whether economic transitions remain within planetary carbon limits while advancing Sustainable Development Goal 11, providing a paradigm shift towards adaptive EIA for sustainable urban development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108325"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2026-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880077","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108319
Yusen Peng , Hao Wang , Bin Chen
Urban waterlogging disasters (UWDs) cause commuting delays and substantial economic losses, but existing assessment methods overlook sectoral heterogeneity and supply chain ripple effects, limiting targeted disaster management. The study develops an integrated sector-spatial-supply chain coupled framework to quantify these losses, using Beijing as a case study. The framework integrates InfoWorks ICM for waterlogging simulation, a commuting model constructed based on mobile signaling and Point of Interest (POI) data, and a Ghosh-based input-output model for economic loss assessment. The results show that indirect economic losses driven by supply chain disruptions are 2.62 times direct losses at the 50-year rainfall return period, with Energy, Manufacturing, and Construction exhibiting the highest indirect loss multipliers. Direct losses concentrate in core areas such as Zhong Guan Cun Science Park and Financial Street due to the co-location effect of waterlogging vulnerability, dense commuters, and high economic activity. The framework establishes a quantitative chain linking UWDs, sector-specific commuting delays, and economic losses. It extends the Ghosh-based input-output (IO) model to labor mobility shocks, integrates POIs with employment sectors to refine economic loss assessment to the employment sector level, identifies inter-sectoral ripple effects and key vulnerable sectors from the supply chain perspective, thus strengthening the economic loss assessment for waterlogging disasters. It also provides a referable perspective for urban disaster management practices, incorporating POIs and commuting demands into urban disaster management, determines sector-specific risk prioritization based on the ripple effects of disaster economic losses, and supporting targeted regional disaster resilience strategies covering sponge infrastructure for high-waterlogging areas and POI layout optimization for high-risk areas.
{"title":"A framework for assessing commuting delay driven economic loss of urban waterlogging","authors":"Yusen Peng , Hao Wang , Bin Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108319","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108319","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Urban waterlogging disasters (UWDs) cause commuting delays and substantial economic losses, but existing assessment methods overlook sectoral heterogeneity and supply chain ripple effects, limiting targeted disaster management. The study develops an integrated sector-spatial-supply chain coupled framework to quantify these losses, using Beijing as a case study. The framework integrates InfoWorks ICM for waterlogging simulation, a commuting model constructed based on mobile signaling and Point of Interest (POI) data, and a Ghosh-based input-output model for economic loss assessment. The results show that indirect economic losses driven by supply chain disruptions are 2.62 times direct losses at the 50-year rainfall return period, with Energy, Manufacturing, and Construction exhibiting the highest indirect loss multipliers. Direct losses concentrate in core areas such as Zhong Guan Cun Science Park and Financial Street due to the co-location effect of waterlogging vulnerability, dense commuters, and high economic activity. The framework establishes a quantitative chain linking UWDs, sector-specific commuting delays, and economic losses. It extends the Ghosh-based input-output (IO) model to labor mobility shocks, integrates POIs with employment sectors to refine economic loss assessment to the employment sector level, identifies inter-sectoral ripple effects and key vulnerable sectors from the supply chain perspective, thus strengthening the economic loss assessment for waterlogging disasters. It also provides a referable perspective for urban disaster management practices, incorporating POIs and commuting demands into urban disaster management, determines sector-specific risk prioritization based on the ripple effects of disaster economic losses, and supporting targeted regional disaster resilience strategies covering sponge infrastructure for high-waterlogging areas and POI layout optimization for high-risk areas.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108319"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-31DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108317
Sijia Lin , Yuan Xu
Offshore wind has become a central pillar in the global energy transition as deployment expands and technology advances. This study develops a novel review and meta-analysis framework based on 45 learning curves to bridge divides between econometric and engineering perspectives and clarify how component characteristics and contextual factors shape offshore wind cost trajectories. Component-based learning curves recognize technological maturity differences between above-water and under-water components and their relatedness to onshore wind knowledge, with respective cost shares of 40 % and 60 % generating learning-by-doing variations of comparable magnitude. The learning-by-doing rates estimated for turbine manufacturing, capacity installation, and electricity generation at 7 %, 9 %, and 13 % indicate intensified cost reductions when emerging components are assessed jointly. Multi-factor learning curves capture contextual influences beyond cumulative outputs and show that learning spillovers and R&D investments drive cost reductions, whereas project expansions into further-offshore and deeper seas slow progress. By examining how model specifications and variable inclusions affect learning-by-doing rate estimates, fixed-effects and random-effects meta-regressions yield robust findings: One-factor learning curves overestimate learning-by-doing rates by 5.67 % relative to multi-factor models; installation-cost metrics derive learning-by-doing rates about 48 % lower than LCOE-based estimates; technological maturation decreases them by 2.2 % over time, indexed by the midpoint of the learning curve's temporal horizon; and industry-wide learning spillovers increase them by 6.83 %. These findings strengthen empirical foundations and provide practical guidance for future offshore wind cost research by underscoring the importance of evolving component cost structures, cross-industry technological relatedness, contextual interdependence, and broader policy and socio-economic implications of sustained cost reductions.
{"title":"Decoding the cost reduction of offshore wind technology through learning curves: A meta analysis","authors":"Sijia Lin , Yuan Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108317","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108317","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Offshore wind has become a central pillar in the global energy transition as deployment expands and technology advances. This study develops a novel review and meta-analysis framework based on 45 learning curves to bridge divides between econometric and engineering perspectives and clarify how component characteristics and contextual factors shape offshore wind cost trajectories. Component-based learning curves recognize technological maturity differences between above-water and under-water components and their relatedness to onshore wind knowledge, with respective cost shares of 40 % and 60 % generating learning-by-doing variations of comparable magnitude. The learning-by-doing rates estimated for turbine manufacturing, capacity installation, and electricity generation at 7 %, 9 %, and 13 % indicate intensified cost reductions when emerging components are assessed jointly. Multi-factor learning curves capture contextual influences beyond cumulative outputs and show that learning spillovers and R&D investments drive cost reductions, whereas project expansions into further-offshore and deeper seas slow progress. By examining how model specifications and variable inclusions affect learning-by-doing rate estimates, fixed-effects and random-effects meta-regressions yield robust findings: One-factor learning curves overestimate learning-by-doing rates by 5.67 % relative to multi-factor models; installation-cost metrics derive learning-by-doing rates about 48 % lower than LCOE-based estimates; technological maturation decreases them by 2.2 % over time, indexed by the midpoint of the learning curve's temporal horizon; and industry-wide learning spillovers increase them by 6.83 %. These findings strengthen empirical foundations and provide practical guidance for future offshore wind cost research by underscoring the importance of evolving component cost structures, cross-industry technological relatedness, contextual interdependence, and broader policy and socio-economic implications of sustained cost reductions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108317"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880084","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-29DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108321
Roberta Stefanini, Giuseppe Vignali
The increasing use of plastic packaging has raised environmental concerns for their disposal. A barrier to recyclability is the popularity of multilayer solutions, consisting of different polymer films, with high-performance barrier, but with almost no material separability. Since circular economy calls for the design for recycling, a strategy is the reduction of structural complexity, favouring single-material configurations that can be processed in mechanical recycling streams.
In this context, this work aims at quantifying the environmental benefits potentially associated to the substitution of multi-material food packaging with recyclable ones. Three types of products have been selected as case studies: coffee (1 kg), dried fruit (200 g), cheese (200 g). Through Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), their conventional packaging configuration composed of polyethene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), aluminium, in complex multilayers, were compared with alternatives based primarily on polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene derivatives. Primary data on packaging composition, production process, transports, auxiliary materials were collected, supplemented by secondary data from Ecoinvent database. Attention was paid to end of lives, modelled using national consortium reports and RecyClass European tool.
Results shows that material choice and production influence packaging environmental impacts, with monomaterials generally performing better in gas emissions and eutrophication, while in resource- and water-related impacts show no clear advantage. End-of-life management is crucial, as proper recycling of monomaterials can significantly enhance sustainability, highlighting the need for consumer awareness and careful evaluation of trade-offs by manufactures. Since results depend on context and material, requiring case-by-case evaluation, future research need to expand products coverage.
{"title":"Quantifying environmental benefits of monomaterial transition in flexible packaging applications","authors":"Roberta Stefanini, Giuseppe Vignali","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108321","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108321","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing use of plastic packaging has raised environmental concerns for their disposal. A barrier to recyclability is the popularity of multilayer solutions, consisting of different polymer films, with high-performance barrier, but with almost no material separability. Since circular economy calls for the design for recycling, a strategy is the reduction of structural complexity, favouring single-material configurations that can be processed in mechanical recycling streams.</div><div>In this context, this work aims at quantifying the environmental benefits potentially associated to the substitution of multi-material food packaging with recyclable ones. Three types of products have been selected as case studies: coffee (1 kg), dried fruit (200 g), cheese (200 g). Through Life Cycle Assessments (LCA), their conventional packaging configuration composed of polyethene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene (PE), aluminium, in complex multilayers, were compared with alternatives based primarily on polypropylene (PP) or polyethylene derivatives. Primary data on packaging composition, production process, transports, auxiliary materials were collected, supplemented by secondary data from Ecoinvent database. Attention was paid to end of lives, modelled using national consortium reports and RecyClass European tool.</div><div>Results shows that material choice and production influence packaging environmental impacts, with monomaterials generally performing better in gas emissions and eutrophication, while in resource- and water-related impacts show no clear advantage. End-of-life management is crucial, as proper recycling of monomaterials can significantly enhance sustainability, highlighting the need for consumer awareness and careful evaluation of trade-offs by manufactures. Since results depend on context and material, requiring case-by-case evaluation, future research need to expand products coverage.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108321"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880085","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2025-12-27DOI: 10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108318
M.J. Mohammad Nasir , Mayank Suman , P. Ravi Prakash
The building sector consumes vast resources and energy, contributing significantly to environmental degradation. Addressing these challenges requires Building Sustainability Assessment (BSA) methods such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), and Green Building Rating Systems (GBRSs). This paper presents a BIM-BSA framework in the Indian context, integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) with LCA, LCCA, and the GRIHA-2019 and IGBC rating systems. Dynamo scripting extracts data from BIM models, while Excel VBA macros process it to calculate environmental impacts, life cycle costs, and GBRS scores. The framework also establishes a systematic mapping of GRIHA-2019 and IGBC appraisal/credit points across life cycle phases and sustainability criteria (procedural, environmental, economic, social, and innovation). The framework is validated with an office building in northwestern India, including uncertainty analysis of BSA parameters. Results highlight that the operational phase is the major contributor to environmental impacts and life cycle costs. The building’s performance in the GRIHA-2019 and IGBC rating systems is evaluated against the combined lens of LCA and LCCA, a perspective that has been limited in prior literature. Discrepancies are observed between the life cycle distribution of LCA impacts and environmental credit allocations in both GBRSs. Climate sensitivity analysis across five Indian climate zones reveals significant variation in life cycle impacts and costs, while GBRS scores remain nearly unchanged, highlighting limited climate responsiveness. The framework culminates in a comprehensive BSA in the Indian context, providing a decision-support system for evaluating sustainable building design strategies, and also identifies certain limitations in the GRIHA-2019 and IGBC rating systems.
{"title":"A BIM-based integrated framework for building sustainability assessment in India: Framework development, implementation, and climate sensitivity analysis","authors":"M.J. Mohammad Nasir , Mayank Suman , P. Ravi Prakash","doi":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108318","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.eiar.2025.108318","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The building sector consumes vast resources and energy, contributing significantly to environmental degradation. Addressing these challenges requires Building Sustainability Assessment (BSA) methods such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), Life Cycle Cost Analysis (LCCA), and Green Building Rating Systems (GBRSs). This paper presents a BIM-BSA framework in the Indian context, integrating Building Information Modeling (BIM) with LCA, LCCA, and the GRIHA-2019 and IGBC rating systems. Dynamo scripting extracts data from BIM models, while Excel VBA macros process it to calculate environmental impacts, life cycle costs, and GBRS scores. The framework also establishes a systematic mapping of GRIHA-2019 and IGBC appraisal/credit points across life cycle phases and sustainability criteria (procedural, environmental, economic, social, and innovation). The framework is validated with an office building in northwestern India, including uncertainty analysis of BSA parameters. Results highlight that the operational phase is the major contributor to environmental impacts and life cycle costs. The building’s performance in the GRIHA-2019 and IGBC rating systems is evaluated against the combined lens of LCA and LCCA, a perspective that has been limited in prior literature. Discrepancies are observed between the life cycle distribution of LCA impacts and environmental credit allocations in both GBRSs. Climate sensitivity analysis across five Indian climate zones reveals significant variation in life cycle impacts and costs, while GBRS scores remain nearly unchanged, highlighting limited climate responsiveness. The framework culminates in a comprehensive BSA in the Indian context, providing a decision-support system for evaluating sustainable building design strategies, and also identifies certain limitations in the GRIHA-2019 and IGBC rating systems.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":309,"journal":{"name":"Environmental Impact Assessment Review","volume":"118 ","pages":"Article 108318"},"PeriodicalIF":11.2,"publicationDate":"2025-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145880125","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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