Essential oils (EOs) from Thymus mastichina (EO-thyme) and Helichrysum italicum (EO-curry) have wide commercial applications, but little is known about their ecotoxicity to aquatic life. We evaluated ...the lethal toxicity of both EOs toward standard freshwater (Daphnia. magna and Thamnocephalus platyurus) and saltwater (Artemia sp.) species. Dimethylsulfoxide was used as a solvent after establishing a maximum safe but effective concentration of 1% (v/v). EO-curry was significantly more toxic than EO-thyme (24–48 h LC50 values of 15.93–55.80 and of 84.78–153.0 mg Lsup.−1, respectively) for all species; sensitivity ratios ranged from threefold for D. magna (48 h) and Artemia sp. (24 h) to fivefold for T. platyurus (24 h). Artemia sp. was the least sensitive, and T. platyurus was the most sensitive species, although significantly more so than D. magna only to EO-curry. The second major compound in EO-thyme, β-pinene (5%), is more toxic to aquatic life than major compound 1,8-cineole (62%), although 1,8-cineole facilitates penetration of other EO constituents into crustaceans’ epidermis. Among the main compounds of EO-curry, only α-pinene (13%) is known to be toxic to aquatic organisms. However, minor compounds present in both EOs, like p-cymene (0.3–1.1%), also cause synergistic effects by enhancing the penetration of other EO constituents. Before any of these standard tests can be recommended for the ecotoxicity characterization and environmental management of EOs, their sensitivity to a wider range of EOs, at least from closely related families, needs to be assessed.
The Digital Finance/Fintech Action Plan and the Sustainable Finance Strategy both represent important pillars of the current EU policy agenda. Nonetheless, the two areas have been treated as separate ...for a long time, while they present certain common features and great potential when combined. In particular, Fintech appears able to respond to some shortcomings in the current sustainable finance framework (e. g. access to retail financing, ESG disclosure, verification and ratings, etc.). The relevance of the link between sustainability, finance and technology has also been evidenced by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, which has urged all countries to re-think the models traditionally deployed and rely more on technology and sustainability. However, Fintech/digital finance still raises per se relevant technical and legal issues that need to be addressed to fulfil its promises and potential in the sustainable finance sector. The present paper aims at starting a debate about “Green Fintech” in order to effectively connect the two worlds and spur the research in such a new and promising area. Special attention will be also reserved to the recent proposal for a European Single Access Point for corporate financial and non-financial disclosure.
The assessment of the implementation of the environmental policy in China is usually made in the context of the application of environmental law. The author proposes a different approach, assuming ...that the policy outcomes depend not only on such or other prerogatives at individual levels of management but on the mutual interaction of individual actors. The article indicates to what extent the central authority is able to define policy goals along with an adequate system of supervision of implementation, what is the perception of local authorities, and in what conditions local authorities are willing to accept the objectives of the ecological policy. It has been identified in which conditions sub-national authorities may distort centrally planned activities related to environmental protection. Keywords: public policy, environmental protection, environmental policy, implementation, China, multilevel governance JEL Classification Codes: Q52, Q53, Q58, R11, R58 Ocena wdrazania polityki ekologicznej w Chinach dokonywana jest zazwyczaj w kontekscie implementacji prawa ochrony srodowiska. Autor proponuje odmienne podejscie, zakladajac, ze efekty polityki uzaleznione sa nie tylko od takich czy innych prerogatyw na poszczegolnych poziomach zarzadzania, ale takze od wzajemnej interakcji poszczegolnych aktorow. Artykul wskazuje, w jakim stopniu wladza centralna jest w stanie definiowac cele polityki, wraz z adekwatnym systemem nadzoru wdrazania, jaka jest percepcja wladz lokalnych, w jakich warunkach wladze lokalne sa sklonne do akceptacji celow polityki ekologicznej. Zidentyfikowano, w jakich warunkach wladze subnarodowe moga znieksztalcac centralnie zaplanowane dzialania zwiazane z ochrona srodowiska. Slowa kluczowe: polityka publiczna, ochrona srodowiska, polityka ochrony srodowiska, implementacja, Chiny, multilevel governance Kody klasyfikacji JEL: Q52, Q53, Q58, R11, R58
A study was conducted to compare the delta(O2/N2) scales used by four laboratories engaged in atmospheric delta(O2/N2) measurements. These laboratories are the Research Institute for Environmental ...Management Technology, Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (EMRI/AIST); the National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES); Tohoku University (TU); and Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO). Therefore, five high-precision standard mixtures for the O.sub.2 molar fraction gravimetrically prepared by the National Metrology Institute of Japan, AIST (NMIJ/AIST) with a standard uncertainty of less than 5 per meg (0.001 0/00) were used as round-robin standard mixtures. EMRI/AIST, NIES, TU, and SIO reported the analyzed values of the standard mixtures on their own delta(O2/N2) scales, and the values were compared with the delta(O2/N2) values gravimetrically determined by NMIJ/AIST (the NMIJ/AIST scale). The delta(O2/N2) temporal drift in the five standard mixtures during the intercomparison experiment from May 2017 to March 2020 was corrected based on the delta(O2/N2) values analyzed before and after the laboratory measurements by EMRI/AIST. The scales are compared based on offsets in zero and span. The relative span offsets of EMRI/AIST, TU, NIES, and SIO scales against the NMIJ/AIST scale were -0.11%±0.10%, -0.10%±0.13%, 3.39 %±0.13 %, and 0.93 %±0.10 %, respectively. The largest offset corresponded to a 0.30 Pg yr.sup.-1 decrease and increase in global estimates for land biospheric and oceanic CO.sub.2 uptakes based on trends in atmospheric CO.sub.2 and delta(O2/N2). The deviations in the measured delta(O2/N2) values on the laboratory scales from the NMIJ/AIST scale are 65.8±2.2, 425.7±3.1, 404.5±3.0, and 596.4±2.4 per meg for EMRI/AIST, TU, NIES, and SIO, respectively. The difference between atmospheric delta(O2/N2) values observed at Hateruma Island (HAT; 24.05.sup." N, 123.81.sup." E), Japan, by EMRI/AIST and NIES were reduced from -329.3±6.9 to -6.6±6.8 per meg by converting their scales to the NMIJ/AIST scale.
Investments in environmental protection are crucial for achieving the goals of building green economy. The purpose of the study is, firstly, to assess the state and trends of Ukrainian companies ...investments for environmental purposes; secondly, to identify the determinants of the impact on the volume of environmental protection investments; finally, to determine presence /absence of a link between environmental investments and financial performance of companies. The initial data for the study were obtained from published statistical reports for the period from 2010 till 2019. Methods of analysis for testing hypotheses are descriptive and correlation-regression ones. It was found out that the selected independent variables (belonging to environmentally damaging activities and revenue of the companies) are positively correlated with the volume of costs and investments in environmental protection of Ukrainian companies. However, for the independent variable “financial results” a negative correlation was obtained. The hypothesis of environmental investments positive impact on the financial profitability of companies has not been confirmed. Environmental policy in Ukraine concerning implementation of “green” growth strategy is defined as a reflective one due to a number of economic and political factors.
El reconocimiento de los graves daños ambientales como crímenes internacionales en el Estatuto de Roma de la Corte Penal Internacional (CPI) no solo expande la justicia penal internacional y refuerza ...la protección del medio ambiente a nivel global, sino también se constituye como un mecanismo para acabar con la gran impunidad que gozan actualmente las empresas. Por ello, a partir de un análisis descriptivo y comparativo de la práctica actual y de la bibliografía relacionada con el tema, el presente artículo, por un lado, evalúa el reconocimiento de los graves y extensos daños ambientales como crímenes que activan la competencia de la CPI, como respuesta a la actual crisis ambiental, y, por otro lado, explora los cambios sustantivos que implica la inclusión de los crímenes ambientales en el Estatuto de Roma, particularmente la extensión de las competencias personales de la CPI para la investigación y el enjuiciamiento de empresas. Palabras Clave: Estatuto de Roma. Corte Penal Internacional. Medio Ambiente. Empresas. The recognition of new environmental crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) not only expands the international criminal justice and strengthens the global environmental protection, but also constitutes a mechanism to end to the corporate impunity. Therefore, based on a descriptive and comparative analysis of current practice and related literature, this article, on the one hand, evaluates the recognition of serious environmental damages as crime that activate the competence of the ICC, as a response to the current environmental crisis, and, on the other hand, it explores the substantive changes that entails the recognition of environmental crimes under the Rome Statute, particularly the extension of the jurisdiction personae of the ICC for the prosecution of corporations. Keywords: Rome Statue. International Criminal Court. Environment. Businesses.
New Earth Politics Nicholson, Simon; Jinnah, Sikina; Conca, Ken ...
03/2016
eBook
Humanity's collective impact on the Earth is vast. The rate and scale of human-driven environmental destruction is quickly outstripping our political and social capacities for managing it. We are in ...effect creating an Earth 2.0 on which the human signature is everywhere, a "new earth" in desperate need of humane and insightful guidance. In this volume, prominent scholars and practitioners in the field of global environmental politics consider the ecological and political realities of life on the new earth, and probe the field's deepest and most enduring questions at a time of increasing environmental stress. Arranged in complementary pairs, the essays in this volume include reflections on environmental pedagogy, analysis of new geopolitical realities, reflections on the power of social movements and international institutions, and calls for more compelling narratives to promote environmental action. At the heart of the volume is sustained attention to the role of traditional scholarly activities in a world confronting environmental disaster. Some contributors make the case that it is the scholar's role to provide activists with the necessary knowledge and tools; others argue for more direct engagement and political action. All the contributors confront the overriding question: What is the best use of their individual and combined energies, given the dire environmental reality?ContributorsErik Assadourian, Frank Biermann, Wil Burns, Ken Conca, Peter Dauvergne, Daniel Deudney, Navroz Dubash, Richard Falk, Joyeeta Gupta, Maria Ivanova, Peter Jacques, Sikina Jinnah, Karen T. Litfin, Michael F. Maniates, Elizabeth Mendenhall, Simon Nicholson, Kate O'Neill, Judith Shapiro, Paul Wapner, Oran R. Young
The past decade has witnessed remarkable economic development, marked by rapid industrialization and urbanization across Asian regions. This surge in economic activity has led to significant ...emissions, resulting in alarming levels of air pollution. Our study comprehensively assessed the spatial and temporal trends of key pollutants, namely nitrogen dioxide (NOsub.2), sulfur dioxide (SOsub.2), and aerosol (using aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm as an indicator), from 2011 to 2021. The data sources utilized include OMI onboard the Aura satellite for NOsub.2 and SOsub.2, as well as MODIS onboard Terra and Aqua satellites for AOD. The results from spatial and temporal trend analyses of the three parameters show that there is a clear declining trend over China and Republic of Korea (e.g., NOsub.2 is declining with an overall rate of −7.8 × 10sup.12 molecules/cmsup.2/year over China) due to the strict implementation of air pollution control policies. However, it is essential to note that both countries still grapple with substantial pollution levels, with proportions exceeding 0.5, indicating that air quality is improving but has not yet reached a safe threshold. In contrast, South Asian regions, including Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India, are experiencing an increasing trend (e.g., NOsub.2 is increasing with an overall rate of 1.2 × 10sup.12 molecules/cmsup.2/year in Bangladesh), primarily due to the lack of rigorous air pollution control policies. The average emissions of NOsub.2 and SOsub.2 were remarkably higher in winter than in summer. Notably, the identified hotspots are statistically significant and predominantly coincide with densely populated areas, such as the North China Plain (NCP). Furthermore, this study underscores the pivotal role of sector-wise emissions in air quality monitoring and improvement. Different cities are primarily influenced by emissions from specific sectors, emphasizing the need for targeted pollution control measures. The findings presented in this research contribute valuable insights to the air quality monitoring and improvement efforts in East and South Asian regions.
Because of the high catalytic activities and substrate specificity, natural enzymes have been widely used in industrial, medical, and biological fields, etc. Although promising, they often suffer ...from intrinsic shortcomings such as high cost, low operational stability, and difficulties of recycling. To overcome these shortcomings, researchers have been devoted to the exploration of artificial enzyme mimics for a long time. Since the discovery of ferromagnetic nanoparticles with intrinsic horseradish peroxidase-like activity in 2007, a large amount of studies on nanozymes have been constantly emerging in the next decade. Nanozymes are one kind of nanomaterials with enzymatic catalytic properties. Compared with natural enzymes, nanozymes have the advantages such as low cost, high stability and durability, which have been widely used in industrial, medical, and biological fields. A thorough understanding of the possible catalytic mechanisms will contribute to the development of novel and high-efficient nanozymes, and the rational regulations of the activities of nanozymes are of great significance. In this review, we systematically introduce the classification, catalytic mechanism, activity regulation as well as recent research progress of nanozymes in the field of biosensing, environmental protection, and disease treatments, etc. in the past years. We also propose the current challenges of nanozymes as well as their future research focus. We anticipate this review may be of significance for the field to understand the properties of nanozymes and the development of novel nanomaterials with enzyme mimicking activities.
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