This study investigates the practical effects of adopting the environmental protection tax (EPT) policy on corporate performance in China. The analysis uses the Difference in Differences (DID) approach based on a quasi-natural experiment scenario. The findings indicate there is a negative impact of implementing the EPT policy on the financial performance of corporations, and the conclusion remains unchanged despite exhaustive robustness testing. The negative impact can be partly attributed to corporate technology innovation inputs. Meanwhile, enterprise property rights, pollution, and technical levels also substantially influence the implementation effect of the legislation. However, implementing this policy has improved corporations\' environmental performance and established its efficacy in enhancing their sustainable capabilities. This study comprehensively explores the impact of environmental control legislation on business performance, spanning financial, environmental, and social dimensions. Corresponding findings offer valuable insights into how firms react to environmental legislation and adjust to the external environment. Meanwhile, it also provides an objective reference for the comprehensive green transformation.

Infrared (IR) technology offers a promising solution for reducing microbiological loads in various food types while preserving their quality traits, such as flavour. However, research on IR\'s application in complex matrices is limited. Therefore, our preliminary study aimed to evaluate its effectiveness in sanitizing bovine raw milk. We assessed the bacterial count before and after IR treatment by comparing volatile organic compound profiles via headspace extraction and GC/MS analysis. Our findings showed that higher energy levels led to a greater bacterial reduction. IR85 was the most effective in reducing Coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae in non-homogenised samples, with a reduction ranging from -1.01 to >-2.99 and from -1.66 to -3.09 Log CFU/mL, respectively. IR60 and 70 showed no efficacy, while IR80 had intermediate but still satisfactory effect. IR85 notably affected volatile compounds, particularly increasing hexanal (from 0.08 to 4.21 ng g-1) and dimethyl sulphone (from 10.76 to 26.40 ng g-1), while IR80 better preserved the aroma profile. As a result, only IR80 was tested with homogenised raw milk, demonstrating significant bacterial reduction (from >2.39 to 3.06 Log CFU/mL for Coliforms and from 1.90 to >2.45 Log CFU/mL for Enterobacteriaceae) and maintaining the aroma profile quality.

The Critical Raw Materials Act has been emanated to address perceived risks around supply chains for critical raw materials in light of expected demand growth [1]. Cobalt is one of the critical raw materials for the EU: it plays a central role in transition to a low-carbon economy and is crucial for batteries powering electric vehicles. The cobalt industry is important not only because of the green transition, it also creates employment opportunities as Europe is the third largest region for total global cobalt value chain employment [2]. The global market for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is continuously increasing which results in higher material demand for the production of Li-ion batteries (LIBs). Especially Lithium nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) batteries are one of the leading types of batteries deployed on BEVs and recovering of materials from used batteries for producing new battery materials may mitigate the material supply risk [3,4]. The present survey concerns the creation and comparison of two datasets of patents concerning Cobalt recycling, respectively achieved without (dataset 1) and with (dataset 2) the addition of one specific \'green\' CPC classification code to a huge list of classification codes concerning recycling. Namely, the CPC Y02P10/20 determines a significant improvement on the exhaustivity of the search regarding Cobalt recycling in dataset 2, on the other hand it might also generate issues evidenced by a subsequent selection of those records in principle focused on the recovery of NMC batteries and characterized by several false positives. Therefore, a refinement strategy is recommended, to make the accuracy of the NMC dataset comparable to that characterizing the NMC results from dataset 1 achieved without any refinement.

Carbon risk may have potential influences on the green transition of enterprises. This paper thoroughly investigates the effect and mechanism of carbon risk on the transition towards sustainability. We use quantitative regression models and a panel of Chinese manufactural listed companies from 2011-2020. There is strong evidence manifesting that the effect of carbon risk on corporate green transition is positive and statistically significant. The green transition is marked by the overall encouragement of exploratory, exploitable, autonomous, and collaborative green innovation. The mechanism test indicates that the enhancement of internal R&D transformation and the pressure of external stakeholders are two fundamental pathways by which carbon risk influences the green transition. Additional examination reveals that the beneficial impact is particularly noticeable for companies that have limited capital intensity, minimal governmental assistance, reduced financial limitations, and are state-owned enterprises. These results are robust to resolve the problem of endogeneity by means of instrumental variables, Heckman two-step, placebo test, propensity score matching and difference-in-difference ways. Against the background of carbon neutrality, it is of great significance to examine the relationship between carbon risk and corporate green transition. The conclusion complements the knowledge of carbon risk and green transition, as well as provides theoretical insights and practical enlightenment for the green transition of manufacturing enterprises in emerging economies.

Urban and green transitions require infrastructures that can cause pressure on coastal ecosystems. In northern Taiwan, plans to convert an oil-fired power plant to gas would necessitate a port terminal construction, threatening nearby corals and marine life. To mitigate construction impacts, the relocation of affected corals was proposed. We conducted a transplantation study, prior to such a large-scale coral relocation, to assess its feasibility and to identify potential risks associated with the marginal location of northern Taiwan for tropical corals. Five coral species, representative of the different ecological strategies, were selected. We used two methods (artificial frames and seabed cementation) to transplant 246 colony fragments to two pre-selected sites. Over a year, we monitored fragment survival and growth, in parallel with environmental conditions. We found that survival and growth were significantly influenced by transplantation methods, sites, and species. The difference between methods revealed biotic (predation by corallivorous snails) and abiotic (mechanical damage by waves) factors affecting coral survival and growth. Acropora species exhibited high growth, but also high mortality, consistent with their known ecology. Other species presented slower growth but higher survival. One site provided a better environment for corals, which we attributed to topography and reduced exposure. Overall, this study provides interesting insights into relocating corals in a high-latitude and urban coral ecosystem, highlighting risks related to mechanical damages and predation.

Promoting green and low-carbon development has become the consensus of the policymakers and the academic, with green transformation of enterprises being the top priority. This paper adopts the difference-in-difference model to investigate the effect of green credit policy on green transition in China, by utilizing the \"Green Credit Guidelines\" (2012 Guidelines) policy as a quasi-natural experiment. Using panel data from publicly listed companies in China, an empirical investigation is conducted, we explain the dependent variable from two dimensions: economic performance and environmental performance, leading to the following results. First, the green credit policy affects the economic performance and environmental performance of treated firms positively, and the robust tests confirm the reliability of this primary conclusion. Second, the indirect impact of green credit policy on green transition can be explained through two mediating mechanism channels including internal capacity building and external market attention. In addition, the proposal of \"Dual Carbon Targets\" makes the impact a slight change. Finally, heterogeneous test also shows that the implementation effect of green credit policy is better in non-state-owned enterprises with high political relevance. These findings are providing valuable insights to promote green transition by designing more effective green credit policies.

This cross-sectional study aims to obtain knowledge about workers\' exposure to airborne dust, bacterial and fungal species, endotoxin, biofilm formation, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in drilling waste treatment plants. In total, 408 full-shift personal samples, 66 work areas, 40 drilling waste, and reference (outdoor air and seawater) samples were analyzed. Some workers were exposed to high levels of endotoxin (207 EU/m3), bacteria (3.8 × 104 colony forming units (CFU)/m3 and 9.8 × 104 DNA copies/m3), or fungi (1.4 × 107 CFU/m3 and 3,600 copies/m3). The exposure levels to endotoxin, bacteria, and peaks of H2S were dependent on the treatment technique. All types of drilling waste contained large concentrations of bacteria compared to the seawater references. Elevated concentrations of airborne bacteria were found close to drilling waste basins. In total, 116, 146, and 112 different bacterial species were found in workers\' exposure, work areas, and the drilling waste, respectively. An overlap in bacterial species found in the drilling waste and air (personal and work area) samples was found. Of the bacterial species found, 49 are classified as human pathogens such as Escherichia coli, Enterobacter cloacae, and Klebsiella oxytoca. In total, 44 fungal species were found in the working environment, and 6 of these are classified as human pathogens such as Aspergillus fumigatus. In conclusion, across the drilling waste treatment plants, human pathogens were present in the drilling waste, and workers\' exposure was affected by the drilling waste treated at the plants with elevated exposure to endotoxin and bacteria. Elevated exposure was related to working as apprentices or chemical engineers, and working with cleaning, or slop water, and working in the daytime.

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The halotolerant non-conventional yeast Debaryomyces hansenii can grow in media containing high concentrations of salt (up to 4 M), metabolize alternative carbon sources than glucose, such as lactose or glycerol, and withstand a wide range of temperatures and pH. These inherent capabilities allow this yeast to grow in harsh environments and use alternative feedstock than traditional commercial media. For example, D. hansenii could be a potential cell factory for revalorizing industrial salty by-products, using them as a substrate for producing new valuable bioproducts, boosting a circular economy. In this work, three different salty by-products derived from the dairy and biopharmaceutical industry have been tested as a possible feedstock for D. hansenii\'s growth. The yeast was not only able to grow efficiently in all of them but also to produce a recombinant protein (Yellow Fluorescent Protein, used as a model) without altering its performance. Moreover, open cultivations at different laboratory scales (1.5 mL and 1 L) were performed under non-sterile conditions and without adding fresh water or any nutritional supplement to the cultivation, making the process cheaper and more sustainable.

Achieving a Net-Zero goal is heavily reliant on transitioning to green methods, making it a top priority. Our research, which used the Generalized Least Squares (GLS) panel method, found that each Macro-region should invest at least 2% more per capita annually in Climate Bonds, a type of green bond. Although some studies have questioned the effectiveness of Climate Bonds, our focus is on their efficient use in countries that produce more fossil fuels. Our findings show that globally, a) Climate Bonds are underutilized in areas with higher per capita use of fossil fuels, and b) High-income countries are gradually reducing their reliance on fossil fuels, while low-income countries have always used very little (with a forecast of future growth). Allocating financial resources in the form of Climate Bonds for the green transition should consider per capita use of fossil fuels, as well as the heterogeneity of population growth and different Macro-Regional economic development. Developing countries, with their large populations, will require more financial resources for an ethically acceptable green transition in the future.