Technologies and strategies fostering the sustainable development of energy, water and environment systems

Holistic strategies in energy, water, and environmental systems can enhance climate change mitigation efforts. Recent scientific innovations have opened up numerous pathways toward comprehensive human development. This editorial explores the 18th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES), highlighting eight key topics from eight research articles that showcase the latest scientific advancements. The articles that addressed energy saving, energy efficiency, and clean energy, include (1) Bioethanol burner operating parameters optimization: Effects of burner opening area modulation on heat output and flue gas composition, (2) Integration of photovoltaic panels and biomass-fuelled CHP in an Italian renewable energy community, (3) AI-Driven Innovations in Greenhouse Agriculture: Reanalysis of Sustainability and Energy Efficiency Impacts, and (4) Methodology to assess the impact of urban vegetation on the energy consumption of residential buildings. A case study in a Mediterranean city. One article discussed infrastructure planning: (5) Dynamic Reduction of Network Flow Optimization Problem: Case of Waste-to-Energy Infrastructure Planning in Czech Republic. One article reviewed the effects of national policies on renewable energy communities: (6) How do national policies influence energy community development across Europe? A review on societal, technical, and economical factors. Additionally, other two articles discussed the method for projections of wind power: (7) A copula post-processing method for wind power projections under climate change, and comparative analysis on open/closed loop with thermal load in an elastocaloric device: (8) 2D thermo-fluidynamic rotary model of an elastocaloric cooling device: The energy performances.