This paper seeks to examine the effect of financial inclusion on energy efficiency financing to limit energy poverty in OECD. The study uses 1998–2018 for the OECD economy to connect the nexus between financial inclusion, energy efficiency and poverty indices, country-wise GDP, and financial inclusion index. The findings show that a financial inclusion 1% increase improves 14% energy efficiency, and this energy efficiency lowers energy poverty by 28%. These results are deduced via the entropy technique and compatible with prior research on energy efficiency and poverty. This study illustrates the different policy changes that may be implemented based on the resultant deductions. The energy efficiency indices are affected by FI substantially, albeit in various ways. Unsustainable financial inclusion increases energy costs, but not to the level of energy use and environmental severe pollution. The increasing concern about environmental contamination should show in the energy industry of OECD.

A chemical characterization of PM₁₀ collected at hydrofoil exhaust stacks was performed conducting two on-board measuring campaigns, with the aim of assessing the ship emission impact on PM₁₀ collected in the coastal area of Naples (Southern Italy) and providing information about the characteristics of this important PM emission source.Samples were analysed determining the contribution of different chemical parameters to PM₁₀’s mass, which consisted of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) (0.10 ± 0.12%), total carbon (61.9% ± 20.0%, with 40.4% of organic carbon, OC, and 21.5% of elemental carbon, EC) and elemental fraction (0.44% ± 1.00%). Differences in terms of composition and chemical parameter profiles were observed between samples collected during offshore navigation (Off) and samples collected during shunting operations (SO), the latter of higher concern on a local scale. For SO samples, lower contributions of OC and EC were observed (39.7% and 19.6% respectively) compared to Off samples (41.5% and 24.2%), and an increase in terms of elements (from 0.32 to 0.51%) and PAHs (from 0.06 to 0.12%) concentrations was observed. In addition, enrichment factors (EFs) for some elements such as V, Zn, Cd, Cu, Ag and Hg as well as PAHs profile varied significantly between SO and Off. Data presented here were compared with data on chemical composition of PM₁₀ sampled in a tunnel, in a background site and in an urban site in the city of Naples. Results indicated that shipping activities contributed significantly to the emission of V and, in some extent, Zn and Cd; in addition, PAH profiles indicated a greater contribution to urban PM₁₀ from vehicular traffic than shipping emissions. These results can significantly contribute to the correct evaluation of the influence of shipping emission on PM₁₀ generation in urban coastal areas and can be a useful reference for similar studies. The coastal area of Naples is an important example of the coexistence of residential, touristic and natural areas with pollutants emission sources including, among the others, shipping emissions. In this and similar contexts, it is important to distinguish the contribution of each emission source to clearly define environmental control policies.

Yongding River is a vital socioeconomic zone in China in providing daily usage for humans, animals, and running of industries and agriculture. This study first provides a comparative assessment for the heavy metal pollution in the surface water from 82 estuarine locations along the basin, including the Guanting Reservoir and seven wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The occurrence, distribution, potential sources, and water quality relating to the detected heavy metals were addressed. Eleven typical elements (Pb, Cr, As, Cd, Sb, Ba, V, Ti, Zn, Ni, and Be) were investigated, and the results showed that all the measured concentrations were below the WHO guideline limits. Most heavy metals exhibited higher levels in the middle of Yongding River basin due to the discharge of WWTPs. Pb, Ti, Zn, and Cd in the surface water mainly originated from anthropogenic discharge, while Sb and V were mostly contributed to geogenic sources according to the principal component analysis. Three documented methods, water quality index (WQI), heavy metal pollution (HPI), and Nemerow pollution index (Pₙ) values, were used to evaluate the contamination monitoring of surface water. All the locations were classified as low and moderate risk except Y12, B2, and Y13 for their Pₙ values were higher than 1.0. The present study highlights the status of heavy metals in Yongding River basin which is helpful in providing fundamental data for assessment of water quality and the effective protection for Yongding River basin in the future.

In recent years, positive and negative effects of urbanization on forest ecosystem have been reported by many studies, while some uncertainties about the impact of urbanization-induced spatial heterogeneity of environmental factors on forest systems still remain unclear. In this study, we analyzed the urbanization effects on sap flux of a common subtropical evergreen tree species Schima superba along an urban–rural gradient in Guangdong Province, South China, and identified the consistency of these results among different groups (evergreen, deciduous, and coniferous species) using data from 83 previously published studies in China. The mean sap flux density (Fd) of S. superba in Xiaoqingshan (XQS), Heshan (HS), Dinghushan (DHS), and Shimentai (SMT), along the urban–rural gradient was 40.9 g m⁻² s⁻¹, 32.1 g m⁻² s⁻¹, 17.0 g m⁻² s⁻¹, and 17.5 g m⁻² s⁻¹, respectively, presenting a decreasing trend with the diminishing urbanization. This pattern in Fd tended to enlarge with tree size and was well confirmed by the enhanced leaf transpiration rate (by 119%) and photosynthetic rate (by 8.8%) for the S. superba in another urbanization gradient from the urban (Hangzhou, denoted as “HZ”) to rural sites (Jiande, denoted as “JD”) in Zhejiang Province, East China, which has similar climatic condition and urbanization with Guangdong Province. We attributed such positive effects to the decreased sapwood density and specific leaf area (SLA), as well as the increased Huber value (sap wood area/leaf area) and the sap wood specific hydraulic conductivity (KS). We also found that pollutant emission exerted more impact on Fd than climatic factors change, since the variation of the latter was not large enough to cause significant change of Fd under the same climatic zone. In addition, we conducted a principal component analysis (PCA) based on the published 83 studies. Results showed Fd of evergreen tree species was related positively to principle 1 and negatively to principle 2, respectively, whereas the Fd of deciduous broadleaf and coniferous tree species was positively and negatively related to both principles, respectively. This study demonstrated the potential impact of urbanization-related pollutant emission changes on water use of forest trees and the growth among different groups.

Human remains have been interred in burial grounds since historic times. Although the re-use of graveyards differs from one country, region or time period to another, over time, graveyard soil may become contaminated or enriched with heavy metal elements. This paper presents heavy metal element soil analysis from two UK church graveyard study sites with contrasting necrosols, but similar burial densities and known burial ages dating back to the sixteenth century and some possibly older than 1,000 years. Portable X-ray fluorescence element laboratory-based analyses were undertaken on surface and near-surface soil pellets. Results show elevated levels of Fe, Pb, Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn and Ca in both necrosols when compared with background values. Element concentration anomalies remained consistently higher than background samples down to 2 m, but reduced with distance away from church buildings. Element concentration anomalies are higher in the clay-rich necrosol than in sandy necrosol. Study result implications suggest that long-used necrosols are likely to be more contaminated with heavy metal elements than similar soil outside graveyards with implications for burial grounds management, adjacent populations and where burial grounds have been deconsecrated and turned to residential dwellings.

Plasticizers are ubiquitous pollutants in the environment, whereas few efforts have been made to elucidate their emission sources in the atmosphere. In this research, the spatioseasonal variations and sources of particle-bound (PM₂.₅) phthalates (PAEs) and their substitutes (APs) at residential sites in seven districts and at four potential point-source sites across a megacity in South China were revealed. The total concentrations of PAEs ranging from 10.7 to 528 ng/m³ were substantially higher than those of APs (1.45.58.5 ng/m³). Significant spatial variations in the concentrations of the pollutants were observed, which were generally higher at the sites with intensive industrial activities and the point-source sites. Most atmospheric plasticizer levels peaked in summer, probably due to the temperature-promoted volatilization. Seven sources of plasticizers were identified by the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model. The sources in less industrialized districts are mainly associated with domestic and commercial emissions and with industry in the industrialized districts. Specifically, plastics and personal care products together contributed 60% of the plasticizers in the atmosphere of this city, followed by solvents and polyester industry sources. The incremental lifetime cancer risk of inhalation exposure to bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate in the study city is below the acceptable level. Relatively higher risks were found for residents living around sites with intensive industrial activities and around wastewater treatment plant.

Rivers act as a natural source of greenhouse gases (GHGs). However, anthropogenic activities can largely alter the chemical composition and microbial communities of rivers, consequently affecting their GHG production. To investigate these impacts, we assessed the accumulation of CO₂, CH₄, and N₂O in an urban river system (Cuenca, Ecuador). High variation of dissolved GHG concentrations was found among river tributaries that mainly depended on water quality and land use. By using Prati and Oregon water quality indices, we observed a clear pattern between water quality and the dissolved GHG concentration: the more polluted the sites were, the higher were their dissolved GHG concentrations. When river water quality deteriorated from acceptable to very heavily polluted, the mean value of pCO₂ and dissolved CH₄ increased by up to ten times while N₂O concentrations boosted by 15 times. Furthermore, surrounding land-use types, i.e., urban, roads, and agriculture, could considerably affect the GHG production in the rivers. Particularly, the average pCO₂ and dissolved N₂O of the sites close to urban areas were almost four times higher than those of the natural sites while this ratio was 25 times in case of CH₄, reflecting the finding that urban areas had the worst water quality with almost 70% of their sites being polluted while this proportion of nature areas was only 12.5%. Lastly, we identified dissolved oxygen, ammonium, and flow characteristics as the main important factors to the GHG production by applying statistical analysis and random forests. These results highlighted the impacts of land-use types on the production of GHGs in rivers contaminated by sewage discharges and surface runoff.

This study investigated the human biomonitoring of heavy metals in the water, sediments, and tissues of mostly consumed fish species using Turkmen pregnant women’s biomarkers in winter 2019, at the Miankaleh Peninsula, north of Iran. Metal concentrations were measured in various fish organs as well as pregnant women’s blood, hair, and nail as biological indicators. For this purpose, a total of 20 water and sediment, 14 fish, and 16 human samples were collected. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to evaluate the concentration of Cr, Co, Cu, As, Hg, and Pb. Results showed metals with the highest concentrations as Cu and Cr in water (93.35 and 80.91 µg/l, respectively), Hg and Pb in sediment (7.40 µg/g for both), Cu and Pb in the liver (27.00 and 18.9 µg/g for C. carpio; 1414 and 31.7 µg/g for L. auratus), muscle (10.00 and 18.80 for C. carpio; 37.20 and 8.27 µg/g for L. auratus), and skin (26.40 and 9.90 for C. carpio; 10.80 and 11.74 µg/g for L. auratus). In addition, Cu, in pregnant women samples, had the highest values at 2.53 mg/l, 8.87, 36.46, and 29.04 µg/g for blood, hair, fingernail, and toenail, respectively. However, Co showed the lowest concentration in all studied samples. Fish liver and fingernail of pregnant women did reveal the highest heavy metal accumulation, whereas fish muscle and blood of pregnant women had the lowest accumulated heavy metals. The concentration of Hg in water, sediment, fish muscle, and women’s blood and hair exceeded the limits suggested by various organizations. Therefore, this study highlighted that heavy metal concentration, in particular Hg, in water, sediments, and fish is a serious risk to the health of local inhabitants who rely on fisheries products and recommended that necessary information should be provided to warn Turkmen pregnant women in consumption of Hg-contaminated fish in this area.

Gold (Au) nanoparticles supported on certain platforms display highly efficient activity on nitroaromatics reduction. In this study, steam-activated carbon black (SCB) was used as a platform to fabricate Au/SCB composites via a green and simple method for 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) reduction. The obtained Au/SCB composites exhibit efficient catalytic performance in reduction of 4-NP (rate constant kₐₚₚ = 2.1925 min⁻¹). The effects of SCB activated under different steam temperature, Au loading amount, pH, and reaction temperature and NaBH₄ concentration were studied. The structural advantages of SCB as a platform were analyzed by various characterizations. Especially, the result of N₂ adsorption–desorption method showed that steam activating process could bring higher surface area (from 185.9689 to 249.0053 m²/g), larger pore volume (from 0.073268 to 0.165246 cm³/g), and more micropore for SCB when compared with initial CB, demonstrating the suitable of SCB for Au NP anchoring, thus promoting the catalytic activity. This work contributes to the fabrication of other supported metal nanoparticle catalysts for preparing different functional nanocomposites for different applications.

Terrestrial anionic surfactants (AS) enter the marine environment through coastal region. Despite that, in general limited knowledge is available on the coastal AS transfer pathway. This paper aims to assess the distributions and exchange of AS in the Peninsular Malaysia coastal environments, adjacent to the southern waters of South China Sea and Strait of Malacca. An assessment case study was conducted by a review on the available data from the workgroup that span between the year 2008 and 2019. The findings showed that AS dominated in the sea surface microlayer (SML, 57%) compared to subsurface water (SSW, 43 %). AS were also found to have dominated in fine mode (FM, 71 %) compared to coarse mode (CM, 29 %) atmospheric aerosols. SML AS correspond to the SSW AS (p < 0.01); however, highest enrichment factor (EF) of the SML AS was not consistent with highest SSW AS. Direct AS exchange between SML and FM and CM was not observed. Furthermore, the paper concludes AS mainly located in the SML and FM and could potentially be the main transfer pathway in the coastal environment.