Focusing on commercial office real estate as both a manifestation of and a conduit of cross-border capital flows, this paper refers to the concepts of topology and topography in a theoretical and empirical exploration of contemporary ‘network economy’ spatial implications for the ‘polycentric urban region’ (PUR). A body of research has cast doubt on the normative European representation of the multi-centre PUR as a balanced, sustainable spatial development model. Yet, the model has continued to be propagated in European territorial strategy and has been influential internationally. Academic perspectives and qualitative evidence reviewed in the paper shed a light on mutual dependencies and recursive relations between network economy global structural processes, international office real estate investment practices mediated by city governments, and the spatial configuration of density. Commercial investment and city planning actor practices chime with urban agglomeration, spatial concentration and density. Quantitative evidence of associations between urban density and office real estate investment returns and capital flows is found. It is concluded that network economy topology, politics and the city are in a dialectical relationship with the PUR territorial governance agenda for spatially balanced regional development.

Urgency and severity of climate change impacts have become increasingly prominent, making the enhancement of corporate climate risk disclosure (CCRD) a shared demand among regulators, investors, and the general public. From the perspective of irrational behavioral traits, this paper utilizes a sample of A-share-listed companies in China from 2008 to 2022 to empirically examine the impact of executives’ overseas experiences on CCRD and its underlying mechanisms. To measure firm-level climate risk disclosure, we employ machine learning-based textual analysis techniques and match the constructed disclosure indicators with firms’ financial data. The results demonstrate that executives with overseas experience significantly enhance the level of CCRD, and this effect remains consistent after a series of robustness tests. This effect operates through the dual paths of “climate attention allocation enhancement” and “management myopia mitigation”. Moreover, the positive impact of overseas experience is more pronounced among firms in climate-sensitive industries and regions with lower climate awareness. A further analysis of executive overseas experience characteristics shows that executives with experience in developed economies and those with international educational backgrounds exhibit a stronger influence in promoting CCRD. Additionally, an investigation into the economic consequences demonstrates that executives with overseas experiences not only improve firms’ ESG performances but also help reduce ESG rating discrepancies, reinforcing the beneficial role of overseas exposure in corporate governance. The findings not only provided micro-level empirical evidence for the effectiveness of talent recruitment policies in emerging economies but also yielded critical policy implications for regulatory bodies to refine climate disclosure frameworks and enable enterprises to leverage opportunities in low-carbon transition.

The city of Bristol currently generates around 48,000 tonnes of household food waste every year. This waste incurs loss of resources and environmental damage throughout the food cycle. In this paper we quantify and value the baseline socio-environmental impacts from household food waste in Bristol before examining the potential costs and benefits that may result from changes to food waste behaviour. In so doing, we look to better inform the choice of food waste reduction methods in public policy. The environmental impacts of two possible policy targets are explored: (1) a 20% increase in food waste recycling and (2) an overall decrease in food waste of 20%. Environmental impacts are estimated for 13 different hazards, including Global Warming Potential, Particulate Matter, Human Toxicity and Water Depletion. The societal consequences of these environmental changes are monetised using non-market values which allows us to directly compare the relative importance of different environmental impacts and the trade-offs between these impacts in each scenario. For example, we estimate that the Global Warming Potential of Bristol’s annual food waste equates to around 110,000 tonnes CO₂, or 25,000 additional cars on the road every year. We find that a 20% improvement in recycling behaviour would lead to an annual reduction of 113 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, whilst a 20% reduction in food waste would result in an annual reduction of 15,000 tonnes CO₂ equivalent. Findings suggest that the environmental impact of waste management is significantly overshadowed by the impact of resources used in food production and distribution before it becomes waste.

So far, the existing literature has examined the impact of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on the green innovation (GI) of listed firms. However, there is still a lack of research on how climate policy uncertainty affects regional innovation compared to its impact at the firm level. In fact, green innovation is not solely driven by listed firms. Unlisted firms, government, and government-affiliated scientific research institutions also play a crucial role in the research, development, and promotion of green technologies. This paper examines the impact of climate policy uncertainty on green innovation based on panel data for 30 provinces in China from 2013 to 2021 using a fixed effects model. The study finds that moderate climate policy uncertainty promotes regional green innovation. However, further analysis reveals that when a region’s climate policy uncertainty is excessively high, it instead hinders green innovation. The mechanism analysis shows that climate policy uncertainty encourages government investment in innovation while constraining firms’ investment in innovation. Additionally, this paper finds that regional financial development can alleviate firms’ financing constraints, thereby mitigating the negative impact of climate policy uncertainty on firms. Financial development enhances the role of climate policy uncertainty in promoting regional green innovation. The findings of this paper provide a basis for the government if it designates climate policies to promote the realization of green innovation. At the same time, this study also puts forward policy recommendations to improve financial policies and strengthen government support in order to promote the process of green technology research and development, marketization, and industrialization, and to promote the green transformation and sustainable development of China’s economy.

In 2007 we conducted a contingent valuation survey in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to estimate the population's willingness–to–pay (WTP) to avoid one hospital admission (HA) and one emergency–room visit (ER) due to respiratory diseases in adults and children younger than 5 years old; and cardiovascular diseases in adults only; both associated with atmospheric air pollution. Our annual mean WTP estimates are €81.82 (adult) and €137.92 (child) for HA; €48.40 (adult) and €90.66 (child) for ER due to respiratory diseases; €53.57 (ER) and €90.08 (HA) for cardiovascular diseases. Our results suggest altruism towards children, and a strong income effect on WTP. Results will help analysts evaluating the health benefits of specific policies with potential air pollution impacts in Sao Paulo, Brazil