Background: Climate change is a problem which is global in nature, and whose effects go across a wide range of disciplines. It is therefore important that this theme is taken into account as part of universities´ teaching and research programs. Methods: A three-tiered approach was used, consisting of a bibliometric analysis, an online survey and a set of case studies, which allow a profile to be built, as to how a sample of universities from 45 countries handle climate change as part of their teaching programs. Results: This paper reports on a study which aimed at identifying the extent to which matters related to climate change are addressed within the teaching and research practices at universities, with a focus on the training needs of teaching staff. It consists of a bibliometric analysis, combined with an online worldwide survey aimed at ascertaining the degree of involvement from universities in reducing their own carbon footprint, and the ways they offer training provisions on the topic. This is complemented by a set of 12 case studies from universities round the world, illustrating current trends on how universities handle climate change. Apart from reporting on the outcomes of the study, the paper highlights what some universities are doing to handle climate issues, and discusses the implications of the research. Conclusions: The paper lists some items via which universities may better educate and train their students on how to handle the many challenges posed by climate change.

Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals at the grassroots level is a challenge given the amplitude and multiplicity of goal‐specific skill sets required. This article explores the use of clusters of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a metric for their implementation at the grassroots level. There is a gap in research related to assessing the extent to which multiple clusters of the SDGs can enhance effective implementation at the grassroots level in developing countries, where the breadth of expertise precludes the inclusion of all 17 SDGs. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) indicates the existence of a set of unique arrays, in this case, clusters of SDGs. Unidimensionality is imperative in the methodological approach to assess the constructs of individual SDGs. For this study, three regions—Central Asia (Georgia), South Asia (Sri Lanka), and Southeast Asia (Vietnam)—were analyzed with respect to their energy reform trajectories. A chi-square analysis yielded support for the research goal of discerning a more efficient approach to implementing clusters of sustainable development goals. The results have potential for facilitating implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals deployed as clusters and applied to infrastructure reforms, with specific focus on energy reforms.

Purpose: – There is a global convergence on issues pertaining to sustainability, such as water sharing, energy security and waste management. Symbiosis focus the need to secure an enduring relationship satisfying the quality of life need for novelty aspirations of the customers and stakeholders. This is addressed as sustainable differentiation. This study aims: to understand the need to develop the symbiosis of sustainable development and sustainable differentiation, to analyze the research framework of sustainability symbiosis though the underlying attributes of: need to develop, need to innovate and need to differentiate. Design/methodology/approach: – The research design conceptualizes sustainable development as a process or evolution where firms may be symbiotically configured on the attributes of sustainability, development and differentiation. The logit analysis methodology addresses competitiveness coupled with environmentally benign technology to sustain the customers' preference for products and services that satisfy their quality of life needs. The approach is to estimate the symbiotic index of a local, regional or globally scalable habitat. The competitiveness coupled with environmentally benign technology can be sustained when the customers' preference for products and services satisfies their quality of life needs. Findings: – The output indicates the significance (0.037 at 95 percent confidence level) of the constant term representing “quality of life need for novelty” justifying symbiotic linkage of sustainability, development and differentiation. There is goodness of fit (α 0.5617, Wald statistic 0.093) to establish the significance of the three variables of GDP (representing intensity of eco-efficient technology), population (standing for intensity of competitiveness) and sustaining empathy (in response to climate change). Their statistical significance indicates the propensity to differentiation given sustainable development would substantively improve the overall construct. Research limitations/implications: – There is need for further research with primary data. The assumption that sustainable differentiation may become an indicator variable that may assume binary form needs thorough justification. The key implication is that differentiation creates grassroots distinctiveness to development that transforms sustainability into opportunity. This cost to benefit gap is bridged through the symbiotic chain of sustainability, development and differentiation. Originality/value: – This sustainable differentiation metric harnesses a dormant, yet fundamental key to the success of sustainable development, the emotive linkage. This explanatory variable adds robustness to sustainable development models by way of etching a long-term memory trace for the sustainability practices of the organization as well as innovation efforts to differentiate long term providing an essence of competitiveness.

Recent studies surprisingly indicate that fossil fuels could constitute 81 percent of primary energy demand, to 2040, 60 percent would continue to be from coal. This could mean more greenhouse emissions. This paper addresses the research proposition that coal though black, yet, could be green with co-integration of carbon capture & storage (CCS) and carbon capture & usage (CCU). The incertitude surrounding the future of coal is a palpable and credible research gap. The other research chasm is the search of energy finance necessary to economically, societally and environmentally leverage the carbon removal. This issue is addressed as bricolage finance for optimal resource optimization. The bricolage supports societal entrepreneurialism that deploy funding sources from bottom-up developmental finance. The twin key outcomes here are: (i) appropriately scaled-up, grassroots-sourced bricolage sustains the societal acceptance of CCS & CCU, (ii) enhances the environmental economics of coal-based thermal power plugged-in with CCU and CCS. The methodological essence of this approach is tri-trajectory literature review, that propose (i) technology-led CCU/CCS (ii) financial derivative based bricolage and (iii) economic recalibration through bottom-up approach for community-level buy-in. Practical application of this framework is probed with instances from less developed regions in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The data draws from published reports on coal-intensive habitats, particularly in developing countries. Pattern coefficients and reflective indicators were deployed to predict, monitor, and reorient support or opposition for CCS implementation. Keywords: energy finance through bricolage; carbon capture and usage; carbon capture and storage; pattern coefficients; reflective indicators JEL Classifications: Q01, O35, R580 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.8104

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