This article embarks on a crucial exploration of the implementation and integration of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria within the energy sector of European countries, with the ultimate objective of refining the energy legislation in Ukraine. The research delves into the evolving role of ESG standards as a cornerstone in corporate strategy and investment, transitioned from its roots in socially responsible investing to a comprehensive framework that intertwines ethical, environmental, and governance considerations with financial analysis. The main thrust of the study is the following: firstly, it provides a panoramic overview of ESG applications within European energy projects, underscoring pivotal policies, strategies, and instances of successful ESG standard incorporation. Secondly, it benchmarks and compares ESG practices across Europe’s energy sector to distill best practices and their consequential trends and impacts. Lastly, this study converges these European insights to forge pragmatic recommendations for Ukraine’s energy legislation, aiming for an elevated integration of ESG standards that are in step with European benchmarks. The anticipated outcomes offer recommendations for enhancing Ukraine’s energy sector with robust ESG standards, proposing steps that align with the country’s newly adopted Energy Strategy 2050 and international sustainability goals.

Purpose. Significant capital inflows in the cryptocurrency market and record-breaking prices on cryptocurrency assets have led to the creation of alternative investment options on cryptocurrency markets, including a new field of decentralized investing, known as decentralized finance, operating on smart contracts. The objective of this study is to review investment options in the industry sector available to investors on cryptocurrency markets and decentralized protocols. Methodology. The model of decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges was used in the article. It is based on providing liquidity into the liquidity pool. Findings. The results of this study demonstrate that new industrial cryptocurrency investors have a wide range of investment options that can outperform strategies like passive holding of cryptocurrency or investing in the stock. Given the liquidity mining model attracts early investors, they need to look at assets such as governance tokens of different platforms. The Sharpe ratio of COMP and UNI tokens is higher than S&P500. In addition, these tokens are mined via a liquidity mining model. Originality. The crypto market has been growing rapidly since the beginning of the pandemic. The calculations for crypto assets might be influenced by the bull run on the crypto market because the last time such high Sharpe ratio for BTC and ETH was observed during the 20172018 cryptocurrency bubble. Investing in the crypto market is riskier than investing in the stock market due to high operational risks. Crypto market investors might prefer to mine or buy UNI or COMP tokens to diversify their portfolios. Practical value. According to the analysis results of the received information, a Sharpe ratio of investments in protocols for loanable funds is lower compared to investment options on the stock market or CeFi lending. It is also potentially riskier due to volatile interest rates and high operational risks.

Diversification of energy sources and innovative development of the energy sector are one of the main directions for ensuring sustainable development and decarbonization of the economy. The aim of the article is to identify connections and interactions between the parameters of energy innovation development and economic growth. Factor analysis was used for this purpose. The results and conclusions determine the most influential factors among the 5 components identified in accordance with the functional areas of innovative development of the national economy in energetics. The analysis allowed to identify the main trends in the development of factors, which allowed to identify positive and negative changes. The regularities of the influence of certain factors on energy innovations have been determined, which has allowed to provide recommendations for their further development and regulation

This study analyzes the impact of social, ecological, and economic components on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in seven selected countries for the period 2000–2022 (Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States). Using data from the Sustainable Development Reports 2017, 2019, and 2023, a correlation and regression analysis was conducted to assess the relationships between the components and the SDG Index. The results demonstrate a strong positive relationship between social, ecological, and economic factors and progress towards achieving the SDGs, with variations between countries. The study revealed the limitations of aggregated data analysis that negatively affect the implementation of the planning function. The research highlighted the importance of a country-by-country approach in assessing sustainable development progress. The results underscore the importance of developing tailored strategies for achieving the SDGs, which are sensitive to each country’s specific conditions, strengths, and weaknesses in different aspects of sustainability. These conclusions are important for the shaping of policies and strategic planning for achieving the SDGs.

Changes in the Tertiary Education System in Pandemic Times: Comparison of Ukrainian and Polish Universities