Hydrogen-based mobility solutions could offer viable technology for sustainable transportation. Current research often examines single pathways, leaving broader comparisons unexplored. This comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluates which vehicle type achieves the best environmental performance when using hydrogen from grey, blue, and green production pathways, the three dominant carbon-intensity variants currently deployed. This study examines seven distinct vehicle configurations that rely on hydrogen-derived energy sources across various propulsion systems: a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (H₂FCEV), hydrogen internal combustion engine vehicle (H₂ICEV), methanol flexible fuel vehicle (MeOH FFV), ethanol flexible vehicle (EtOH FFV), Fischer-Tropsch (FT) diesel internal combustion vehicle (FTD ICEV) and renewable compressed natural gas vehicle (RNGV). Via both grey and blue hydrogen production, H₂ FCEVs are the best options from the viewpoint of GWP, but surprisingly, in the green category, FT-fueled vehicles take over both first and second place, as they produce nearly half the lifetime carbon emissions of purely hydrogen-fueled vehicles. RNGV also emerges as a promising alternative, offering optimal engine properties in a system similar to H₂ICEVs, enabling parallel development and technological upgrades. These findings not only highlight viable low-carbon pathways but also provide clear guidance for future targeted, detailed, applied research.

Responsible production has become increasingly vital in the global sustainability discourse, particularly in manufacturing. The extended producer responsibility (EPR) system is a critical policy mechanism that encourages manufacturers to reduce their environmental impact. Despite its growing significance, comprehensive studies assessing its effectiveness are sparse. Our research aims to address this gap by evaluating the influence of the EPR system on responsible production practices in European manufacturing enterprises. We employed the difference-in-differences (DiD) method to assess the impact, analysing panel data from 27 manufacturing enterprises across the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Romania, Estonia, Hungary, and Bulgaria, from 2010 to 2022. This method was chosen to mitigate endogeneity concerns. The results from the DiD analysis reveal a statistically significant positive impact of the EPR system on the circular material use rate, with an average increase of 10,5%. These findings indicate that the EPR system effectively enhances circular material use within the electronics manufacturing industry, a critical sector for advancing environmental sustainability.

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractThe significance of green economic growth opens up a new space for studying cyclical development processes, raising the issue of coexistence between sustainable development and the cyclical features of economic growth. The purpose of this study is to identify statistically significant relationships between cyclical components (fluctuations) of economic growth and environmental consequences within national economic systems. The paper utilizes Hodrick–Prescott and Butterworth bandpass filters to detrend dynamic series of ecological and economic development, highlighting cyclical components (fluctuations) that are analyzed for the presence of correlation in the referenced and lag periods (to identify procyclical and lag dynamics). The analysis uses statistical data from the World Bank for Ukraine and Hungary for 1991–2022. The results prove that for Ukraine with an increase in the cyclical component of GDP per capita there is a cyclical increase in pollution indicators, according to the Butterworth filter for NOx emissions from industrial combustion (correlation coefficient 0.72), F-gases emissions from industrial processes (correlation coefficient 0.77), CO2 emissions excluding LULUCF (correlation coefficient 0.70). The situation with Hungary is different, and the business cycle is not correlated with pollution fluctuations. The paper does not find a statistically significant relationship between the business cycle and fluctuations in methane (CH4) emissions from waste (Mt CO2e). Overall, most economic and environmental components are procyclical in nature, with the strongest correlation in the reference period for a developing industrial economy (Ukraine). In contrast, there is no such link within a more developed economy (Hungary).AcknowledgmentsThis research was conducted within the project “Restructuring of the national economy in the direction of digital transformations for sustainable development” (№0122U001232) funded by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine.