Sustainable Horizons最新文献

{"title":"Household driven and council managed street greening: scoring cost, expertise, space, and cost-benefits of green infrastructure combinations","authors":"Akash Biswal ,&nbsp;Hao Sun ,&nbsp;Isabelle Bray ,&nbsp;Owen Cranshaw ,&nbsp;Thomas Rodding Kjeldsen ,&nbsp;Christopher C. Pain ,&nbsp;Thomas Roberts ,&nbsp;Danielle Sinnett ,&nbsp;Tom Wild ,&nbsp;Jannis Wenk ,&nbsp;Prashant Kumar","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100165","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100165","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While extensive research has documented the environmental benefits of green infrastructure (GI), do-it-yourself (DIY) approaches that empower individuals and communities to implement small-scale green solutions have received limited attention despite their potential to democratise urban greening and foster community engagement. This study aims to systematically characterise DIY GI implementation across UK cities and analyse the costs and benefits of GI establishment. We conducted mapping of GI configurations across major UK cities using Google street view imagery and field observations, identifying 30 street-scale and 50 household-scale GI scenarios, complemented by an extensive literature review examining small-scale GI interventions. This focus on household and streetside GI provides insights into small-scale interventions, although larger spaces such as urban forests, parks and grasslands also provide benefits, they are beyond the scope of this study. A five-level scoring framework was developed for costs, space requirements, expertise levels, maintenance demands, and cost-benefits to design DIY guidance cards for GI scenarios. Our findings reveal diversity in GI adoption, with street trees and basic grass combinations dominating street-scale implementations (20.8 % each), while household-scale approaches show remarkable variety ranging from simple grass-only configurations (18.5 %) to complex multi-feature systems. The analysis identified a linear relationship between higher GI establishment costs and increased maintenance costs, despite greater variation in the latter. The detailed DIY score reveals that household-scale combinations have greater variation in cost and higher potential benefits compared with street-scale interventions, which remain clustered at lower scores despite higher space demands. The DIY framework enables local authorities and households to make informed GI decisions, addressing key implementation barriers. Aligned with UK policies for GI, the current framework can be further enhanced through interactive platforms, planting schemes, and added metrics for biodiversity and climate adaptation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100165"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145365070","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating the role of renewable energy and government consumption in reducing CO2 emissions: A dynamic panel data analysis","authors":"Mehedi Hasan ,&nbsp;Hafsha Talukdar Eiti ,&nbsp;Md. Saddam Hossain ,&nbsp;Mohammad Bin Amin ,&nbsp;Md. Atikur Rahaman ,&nbsp;Judit Oláh","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100164","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100164","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reducing CO₂ emissions poses a critical challenge for rapidly industrializing lower-middle-income countries (LMICs), where economic expansion pushes enhanced energy consumption, industrial activity, and transportation emissions. While previous research has separately examined the roles of renewable energy adoption and government spending in mitigating emissions, this study uniquely investigates their combined and interactive effects on CO₂ emissions in LMICs, providing novel empirical insights through dynamic analysis. This research employs panel data from 26 LMICs spanning 2002 to 2022, utilizing fixed-effects, random-effects, and generalized method of moments (GMM) approaches to address endogeneity, autocorrelation, and unobserved heterogeneity. The robust GMM estimators, handling these issues effectively, ensure reliable and complete causal inferences. The findings from the preferred GMM model indicate that a 1 % increase in renewable energy consumption results in a 0.025 % reduction in CO₂ emissions, but a 1 % rise in government expenditure contributes to a 0.0531 % decrease, when spending is environmentally aligned. However, the interaction term between renewable energy and government consumption demonstrates a small but significant positive effect, indicating that poorly targeted fiscal spending may dilute the environmental benefits of renewables. GDP growth and energy use dramatically rise emissions, supporting the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, while urbanization and education show mixed effects. These results underscore the necessity of integrating renewable energy expansion with strategic government fiscal interventions to promote sustainable emission reductions. The study adds to the body of knowledge on sustainable development literature by elucidating the complex interplay between fiscal policy and renewable energy adoption. We recommend that policymakers in LMICs prioritize green-aligned spending and phase out fossil incentives to maximize synergies, fostering scalable models for global climate goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"17 ","pages":"Article 100164"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145323267","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Phyllosphere microbiota and metabolomic insights of sewage sludge-derived biostimulant in enhancing nutritional quality and disease resistance of Pakchoi cabbage","authors":"Jiahou Hao ,&nbsp;Jun Xu ,&nbsp;Qiaoqiao Li ,&nbsp;Zuoyue Li ,&nbsp;Yue Zhang ,&nbsp;Shuo Wang ,&nbsp;Ji Li","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100161","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100161","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Maintaining green and sustainable agriculture is challenging due to the reliance on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Sewage sludge-based nutrient biostimulant (SS-NB), derived from alkaline thermal hydrolysis of sludge, offers both nutrient and biostimulant properties, making it a promising alternative. However, its effect on the physiological characteristics of crops remains unclear. In this study, we explored changes in the growth characteristics, metabolic molecules, and phyllosphere microbial communities of <em>pakchoi</em> cabbage following both foliar fertilization (FF) and soil fertilization (SF) with SS-NB. Both SS-NB(FF) and SS-NB(SF) treatments increased the net photosynthetic rate, light energy use efficiency, ATP synthase, and Rubisco enzyme activities in the photosynthesis system. The related metabolites were mainly involved in carbon fixation, sugar metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and disease-resistant metabolic pathways. In addition, SS-NB(SF) significantly enhanced the abundance of phytohormone analogues, which had strong positive correlations with photosynthesis and nutrient metabolites (up to 60.81%). Meanwhile, SS-NB(FF) and SS-NB(SF) reduced the crop's dependence on phyllosphere photosynthetic microorganisms and elevated the abundance of phyllosphere beneficial microorganisms. In the SS-NB(FF) group, bacteria acted as a hub for nutrient transformation and maintained strong interaction with metabolites, which in turn enhanced the disease resistance of the crop. Conversely, the SS-NB(SF) group suppressed phyllosphere pathogens through flavonoids in a negative interaction mode. Overall, SS-NB may enhance crop growth and disease resistance by inducing the production of phytohormonal substances and stimulating photosynthesis, nutrient metabolism, and flavonoid metabolic pathways. This study provides data support for SS-NB as a nutrient input to enhance sustainable agricultural production.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100161"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145095126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Enhanced short-duration precipitation and divergent rainfall spatial patterns of Typhoon Nida (2016) under the impact of urbanization","authors":"Xiaowen Huang ,&nbsp;Long Yang ,&nbsp;Laurent Z.X. Li ,&nbsp;Dashan Wang ,&nbsp;Maofeng Liu ,&nbsp;Yibing Su ,&nbsp;Zhenzhong Zeng","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100160","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100160","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tropical cyclones (TCs), when approaching coasts and after landfalling, may exhibit significant interactions with heavily urbanized surfaces. Despite numerous studies, the effects of urbanization on TCs and their landfalling processes remain insufficiently explored. Typhoon Nida, landfalling in the Pearl River Delta region on August 1, 2016, provides an interesting case for us to revisit the issue. We use the Weather Research and Forecasting model in paired numerical experiments to isolate the urban effects. Urban land cover has a small impact on the track and the intensity of the typhoon. Urban effect on landfalling precipitation in this event is mainly profound in changing rainfall spatial patterns rather than the average rain rate. The accumulated precipitation and the rain rate of the major urban area are reduced. During different stages of the TC rapid movement, enhanced precipitation is observed at the downwind and upwind regions within a short duration. The increase in surface temperature and sensible heat flux enhances thermal circulation; however, this effect is weakened under the strong synoptic background during landfall. Increasing urban surface roughness decelerates airflows and enhances updrafts along the urban boundaries, producing enhanced water vapor convergence and bifurcated winds, increasing downwind precipitation with a maximum value of 46.17 mm in 6 h. Throughout the TC rapid movement, urban modification on precipitation patterns displays high spatial variability over short periods. The study raises concern about more extreme hazards occurring in multiple locations over urban areas caused by urban-induced TC rainfall redistribution.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100160"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145048578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Trends, patterns, and future directions in water resources management research in Australia: From scientometric insights to a dynamic socio-hydrological feedback model","authors":"Mallika Roy ,&nbsp;Jaba Rani Sarker ,&nbsp;Siddhartha Shankar Roy","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100159","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100159","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Water resources management focuses on the efficient and sustainable allocation, use, and conservation of water resources to meet both current and future demands, mitigating environmental impacts while ensuring the resilience of ecosystems and communities. Despite the growing body of literature on water resources management in Australia, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis that systematically maps its intellectual structure, thematic evolution, and global collaboration patterns to inform future research directions. This study performs a Scientometric analysis of water resource management research from 2000 to 2024 using data from the Scopus database. Key areas of analysis include citation trends, co-citation patterns, international collaboration dynamics, keyword co-occurrences, and bibliographic coupling, offering a holistic view of the research landscape. The study identifies the top 10 most-cited journal articles, highlighting seminal works such as <span><span>Malone (2009)</span></span> and <span><span>Willis (2011)</span></span> and recent impactful studies by <span><span>Zhang (2020)</span></span> and <span><span>Gao (2017)</span></span>, reflecting current research trends. Co-citation analysis reveals thematic clusters, including legislative frameworks like the \"Water Management Act 2000 (NSW)\" and theoretical contributions like Olson’s \"Logic of Collective Action\". Co-authorship analysis uncovers significant collaborations between Australia, the United States, China, and Germany, with a notable increase in partnerships with China. The co-occurrence analysis of keywords identifies three primary themes: \"Water Resource Management in Australia\", \"Regional Water Management\", and \"Climate Impact on Water Resources\", focusing on areas like the Murray-Darling Basin. Bibliographic coupling highlights a few journals to interdisciplinary research. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first comprehensive, determinants-oriented bibliometric and thematic mapping of WRM in Australia. This study fills that gap by offering a novel, country-specific, data-driven mapping of the Australian WRM research landscape, providing a benchmark for future scholarly efforts. This study proposes a dynamic socio-hydrological feedback model linking several variables including sustainable water management, integrated economic and agricultural practices, and their impacts on water sustainability and productivity, while accounting for climate change and groundwater depletion as moderating factors. This analysis provides key insights into the development and collaboration trends in water resource management, guiding future research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100159"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145018475","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interactions between black, brown, blue and green carbon from terrestrial to marine ecosystems: A critical review","authors":"Allison White ,&nbsp;Richard J. Kline ,&nbsp;Md Saydur Rahman","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100158","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100158","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Black and brown carbon are byproducts of the incomplete combustion of biomass or fossil fuels. These light-absorbing aerosols influence climate by altering the radiative balance through the absorption and scattering of sunlight, exacerbating global climate change. Their subsequent deposition on terrestrial and marine environments affects surface albedo, snow and ice melt, and biogeochemical processes, leading to further environmental consequences. In contrast, green and blue carbon refer to carbon stored in terrestrial vegetation and marine ecosystems, respectively. These ecosystems play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by sequestering atmospheric carbon; however, they are increasingly threatened by climatic disturbances, anthropogenic activities, and environmental degradation, which can compromise their carbon storage potential. Black and brown carbon interact with green and blue carbon pools through multiple pathways, including wildfire dynamics, atmospheric deposition, and fluvial transport. Additionally, these interactions contribute to climate-driven feedback loops that influence carbon fluxes and storage capacity. While black and brown carbon emissions pose significant threats to green and blue carbon sinks by accelerating climate change and ecosystem destabilization, recent studies estimate that a percentage of BC produced from biomass burning can be stabilized as recalcitrant carbon in soils for centuries to millennia, and BC buried in deep marine sediment may persist for over 20,000 years. This persistence underlies its potential role in long-term carbon sequestration, particularly through biochar application in soils and natural deposition in deep-ocean sediments. Understanding the complex and multifaceted interactions between black, brown, green, and blue carbon is critical for developing comprehensive climate mitigation strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100158"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144988690","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Hydroxyl radical in anodic oxidation-based electrochemical advanced oxidation processes: Critical understanding and a new perspective","authors":"Jie Teng ,&nbsp;Yuzhen Zhang ,&nbsp;Pu Li ,&nbsp;Guoshuai Liu","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100156","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100156","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The rapid expansion of industrial activities and urbanization induced the widespread presence of recalcitrant organic pollutants in aquatic systems. Anodic oxidation (AO)-based electrochemical advanced oxidation processes (EAOPs) have emerged as an intriguing strategy, utilizing reactive oxygen species (ROS) to achieve near-complete mineralization of contaminants. Among ROS, hydroxyl radicals (•OH) stand out as the most potent oxidant (<em>E</em>⁰ = 2.73 V vs standard hydrogen electrode, SHE), with their generation mechanisms, detection methodologies, and regulation strategies being central to enhancing EAOPs efficiency. This review systematically examines the reaction mechanisms of •OH (electron transfer, hydrogen abstraction, hydroxyl addition), detection techniques (spin-trapping, fluorescence probes, electrochemical sensors), and generation dynamics in EAOPs. In addition, surface-bound hydroxyl species (OH*) on transition metal oxide electrodes reveal novel pathways for efficient pollutant degradation at lower potentials was also reviewed. This review shows that the key challenges facing anodic oxidation technology are related to (1) developing electrode materials with balanced oxygen evolution reaction (OER) overpotential and rapid charge transfer, (2) evaluating the state-of-the-art detection techniques, highlighting their merits and limitations in •OH detection, (3) decoupling the •OH generation kinetics and discussing the conflict and intrinsic connection of •OH and surface bonding OH*, and (4) designing strategies adaptable to complex wastewater matrices. By bridging electrochemistry, materials science, and environmental engineering, EAOPs hold transformative potential for transitioning from benchtop innovations to scalable water remediation technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144904042","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Edible Tenebrio molitor as solid waste biodegraders: Exploring degradation mechanisms, physiological stress responses, application challenges, and future perspectives","authors":"Yuan Tian ,&nbsp;Meng-Qi Ding ,&nbsp;Jia-Yi Wang ,&nbsp;Jie Ding ,&nbsp;Mei-Xi Li ,&nbsp;De-Feng Xing ,&nbsp;Lei Zhao ,&nbsp;Nan-Qi Ren ,&nbsp;Shan-Shan Yang","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100155","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100155","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Over the past few decades, plastics and agricultural residues, such as crop straw, have become ubiquitous in daily life and industrial production, leading to an obvious increase in global solid waste generation. The accumulation of low-biodegradable plastics and crop straw in the environment has resulted in severe air, water, and soil pollution, causing substantial ecological harm. Furthermore, the improper disposal of crop straw and plastics has led to resource wastage. Various biological and chemical processes with considerable potential for recycling plastics and crop straw have been developed; however, biodegradation stands out as both an innovative and highly sustainable strategy for addressing this escalating environmental challenge. In this review, firstly, we summarize of recent advances in the use of insects for the biodegradation of crop straw, including waste conversion efficiency and the role of insect gut microbiota. We then discuss in detail the biodegradation efficiency, physiological stress responses and metabolic characteristics, ecological risks, and challenges associated with the biodegradation of petroleum-based and biodegradable plastics by <em>Tenebrio molitor</em>. These discussions, in turn, inspire further technical exploration to fully harness the potential of these insects, with an emphasis on improving rearing efficiency, enhancing degradation capabilities, and deepening our understanding of the ecological and health impacts of the metabolic byproducts produced by these insects. These insights can pave the way for innovative biotechnological solutions, transforming waste management practices and advancing sustainability goals.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"16 ","pages":"Article 100155"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144902515","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6 through sustainable groundwater use in the Water-Energy-Food Nexus perspective in arid areas","authors":"Rudy Rossetto ,&nbsp;Giacomo Vescovo ,&nbsp;Mohamed Bahnassy ,&nbsp;Osama Abd El-Kawy ,&nbsp;Rasha Badr El-Din ,&nbsp;Hossam M. El-Sayed ,&nbsp;Fernando Nardi","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100154","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100154","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We present a groundwater-based strategy for achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 Water and Sanitation in arid, data-scarce regions through a Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus modelling approach. A density-dependent groundwater flow model, built using the FREEWAT-Q3 platform and SEAWAT code, evaluated the sustainability of groundwater use for both drinking and irrigation in Wadi Naghamish area (Egypt), in a region challenged by chronic water scarcity and socio-economic vulnerability. The implemented model simulated groundwater dynamics, seawater intrusion, and groundwater salinity changes under various conditions, including climate change scenarios up to a 30% reduction in aquifer rainfall recharge. Results showed that a groundwater withdrawal scheme using two wells at 24 L/s total capacity remained sustainable, with minimal impact on aquifer balance and salinity (TDS changes less than 1 g/L). Groundwater pumping combined with partial desalination was found to be far more energy-efficient and climate-friendly than full seawater desalination. Groundwater-based systems produced 226 kg/day of CO₂ emissions using diesel and only 42 kg/day with renewables—compared to 1301 kg/day and 241 kg/day, respectively, for seawater desalination. The proposed irrigation system could transform local agriculture by irrigating about 45 hectares for two cropping seasons a year, boosting food production and societal resilience. The proposed WEF Nexus approach ensures that water, energy, and food production systems are harmonized, avoiding sectoral trade-offs. Additionally, we demonstrated that the integration of traditional water practices like <em>jessour</em> may enhance sustainability. Beyond SDG 6, our results support the achievement of SDGs 1, 2, 3, and 13. The Wadi Naghamish case exemplifies how groundwater Nexus-based planning can guide low-carbon, sustainable water solutions—though enhanced data collection is essential to validate and to scale such planning.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100154"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144879747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Sustainability of rare earth elements consumption in a circular economy perspective","authors":"Mejame Palle Paul Mejame,&nbsp;David King,&nbsp;Yinghe He","doi":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100152","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.horiz.2025.100152","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Rare Earth Elements (REEs) play a crucial role in emerging high technologies in the information and telecommunication industries, as well as the renewable and energy efficiency sectors. They are essential for achieving high speed, performance, durability, and low carbon emissions in these industries due to their unique chemical and physical properties. The growing environmental concerns and increasing demand for REEs, combined with limited sourcing locations, pose a significant risk of supply disruption. Despite this threat, there is a lack of comprehensive assessment of the environmental impact and benefits of sustainable consumption of these metals, especially in terms of improving resource efficiency strategies. To address these challenges, a study was conducted to evaluate the sustainability of REEs consumption in Australia using a holistic and systematic approach based on the circular economy (CE) model. This involved developing a sustainability framework and an implementation strategy to close the material loop and minimise the adverse impacts of resource shortages while maximising environmental benefits. The study included (a) analysing the life cycle of REEs material consumption, (b) conducting a material flow analysis to link resource use to environmental impacts, and (c) considering interactions between people and the environment. Key metrics for resource efficiency in a sustainable development framework, including materials use, energy demand, and greenhouse gas emissions, were used to determine the potential environmental impacts. The study's findings are significant as they enable the evaluation of existing resource efficiency strategies for REEs and provide recommendations to enhance sustainability outcomes in Australia for global uptake. The study demonstrates the application of circular economy as a sustainable strategy to mitigate and transform resource use to minimise environmental and socio-economic impacts by improving resource efficiency and promoting sustainable consumption patterns.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":101199,"journal":{"name":"Sustainable Horizons","volume":"15 ","pages":"Article 100152"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144696673","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}