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A study from Bjørn et al (2021) suggests that methods to allocate emissions to companies proportionally to their economic growth are consistent with equity-related principles and are effective at conserving a global emissions budget while the science based targets initiative’s (SBTi’s) absolute contraction approach (ACA) fulfills neither qualification. Here we identify four areas of concern with the study and propose a more comprehensive approach to science based targets (SBT) method evaluation. We respond that first, the authors’ method characterization does not differentiate between the emissions allocation that occurs in mitigation scenarios and that which is normatively caused by method formulae, and it misinterprets the drivers of emissions allocation in scenarios. Second, we note that the authors evaluate a method formula for ACA that does not match its use by the SBTi. Third, we acknowledge that allocating emissions based on economic growth can yield incoherent results by comparison to published climate change mitigation scenarios and suggest the authors also evaluate whether methods are effective at conserving sub-global emissions budgets. Fourth, we observe that although the study is framed as an evaluation of SBT methods, it relies almost entirely on assessments of one characteristic. We conclude by proposing a set of principles that should be met by effective SBT methods and a high-level assessment of SBT methods against these principles.

The corporate sector is one of the main emitters in the world due to the production process and therefore is identified as a major contributor to climate change. In fact, the productive sector is both one of the major aggregators of the impacts of global climate change and a market actor who can play an important role in reducing, mitigating, and adapting the vulnerability of human and natural systems. The main objective of this study was to verify whether the climate change performance of Brazilian companies is influenced by the characteristics of the composition of the board of directors (BD). The performance here is measured according to company’s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) score. The score, besides evaluating the quality and comprehensiveness of information provided on climate change mitigation strategies, evaluates the level of concrete and proactive actions, policies, and strategies adopted by companies to mitigate climate change. The study was based on the premise that climate risk management is the responsibility of the board, which is responsible for ratifying important decisions in the company. A multiple linear regression model based on data from the CDP of a sample size equivalent to 72 Brazilian companies, referring to the period among 2014 to 2018, totaling 360 observations listed on the Brazilian stock exchange showed that corporate climate management have significant and positive relationship with the size of the company’s BD, number of independent directors of the BD, Business Sustainability Index (ISE) participation, size of firm, profitability, and industry classification. The findings suggest several strategies that could be used to engage firm in climate management, among which the increase in the number of independent directors in the board composition. In other words, we have found that one of the most effective strategies of mitigation and adaptation that can inhibit or pressure companies to become involved in climate management is increasing the number of independent directors on the board of directors. This result, although based on Brazilian companies, can have implications for the rest of the world’s companies, since, regardless of country, the BD’s role remains the same, ratifying the important decisions in the organization. Therefore, proportion of the number of independent director’s increase leads to the improvement of the company’s involvement in climate issues. Thus, potential investors, for example, may require such a feature before investing in a particular company. In addition, we found that companies that strive to be part of the ISE developed by the São Paulo capital market have a higher climate performance compared to companies that are not part of it, demonstrating therefore that ISE is a key instrument to get companies to increase their concern about environmental issues, in general, and climate, in particular. Thus, as global recommendations for mitigation/adaptation strategies, capital markets around the world can also play an important role in the climate mitigation and adaptation process by creating ISE-like instruments and creating incentives for companies to strive to adhere to these instruments.

The association between economic growth and environmental degradation is well documented. However, the link between business climate and ecological footprint remains an open question. This paper therefore explores the extent of the influence of business climate on environmental degradation in Africa. The impacts of business climate are estimated in a panel of 35 African countries observed over the period 2006–2018, using ecological footprint to account for environmental degradation. Panel spatial consistent correlation estimation technique, system generalized method of moments and method of moment panel quantile regression are used to estimate the model. The results show that business climate contributes to environmental degradation in developing economies. A 1% increase in business climate distorts environmental quality by 17.8%. The study reveals that although many development experts often encourage the ease of doing business policy, it does not come without its own potential damaging repercussion for the ecological environment. The paper contributes to the empirics by suggesting a new model that integrates the quantitative impacts of business climate on ecological footprint. Policymakers need to understudy how business firms can incorporate a better responsiveness toward the ecosystem. An improvement in business activities monitoring can help to mitigate the ecological footprint issues in developing countries.

Since the 1950s, the remarkable amount of global environmental degradation has heightened environmental concerns at both national and international levels. This shift has spurred intensive research into the causes of environmental degradation and potential remedies, including environmental taxes, fines, education, and regulations. The drivers of CO2 emissions have been widely explored in the literature, but the nexus between business climate, human capital, and CO2 emissions has not been examined sufficiently. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to delve into the interplay between renewable energy, business climate, human capital, and CO2 emissions in BRICS countries from 2000 to 2020 using panel causality and cointegration tests. Our research hypotheses suggest that there are significant mutual interactions among renewable energy, business climate, human capital, and CO2 emissions based on the associated literature. The results of the causality test verify the research hypotheses by uncovering a bidirectional causality between business climate, renewable energy use, human capital, and CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the cointegration analysis reveals that increases in renewable energy use and human capital decrease CO2 emissions at the panel level, but a positive business climate increases CO2 emissions at the panel level. However, the impact of business climate on CO2 emissions at the country level varies among BRICS economies based on environmental policies. In conclusion, investing in green energy technologies and education is a useful tool to decrease CO2 emissions. In addition to this, the positive effect of business climate on CO2 emissions should be balanced by regulations to increase environmental, social, and governance awareness of firms.

The paper aims to perform an objective comparative analysis of the business climate for entrepreneurship development in European countries in 2021 and group them according to the quality of the business climate. The research uses thirteen criteria from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor report and TOPSIS methodology combined with entropy to perform a comparative analysis of the business climate for entrepreneurship development in selected European economies in 2021. Usage of TOPSIS and entropy method based on the last available data enabled objective and the most accurate evaluation and ranking of countries, taking into account all observed criteria. According to the study, the ranking of European economies indicates that the Netherlands has the most favorable business climate for entrepreneurship development, considering all observed criteria, while Belarus is ranked in the last position. According to relative closeness to the ideal solution (Ci*), the four clusters of countries are derived. Besides the Netherlands, Lithuania, Norway, and Finland were also dedicated to the first cluster, indicating that these economies obtained the most favorable conditions for entrepreneurship development during the pandemic crisis. On the other hand, former command economies and Greece and Cyprus are placed in Cluster IV since they haven’t supported entrepreneurs with sufficient and appropriate economic policy and regulatory reforms.

The energy transition is progressing slowly in the ten member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). To achieve ASEAN’s target of 23% renewables in the primary energy supply by 2025, the region would need to invest USD 27 billion in renewable energy every year. However, the ASEAN countries attracted no more than USD 8 billion annually from 2016 to 2021. Through a comparative review of three key factors for attracting investment—renewable energy legislation, energy governance reform, and general conditions for investors—this study examines why the region’s renewable energy sector has not attracted more capital. The contribution of the article is threefold. First, it develops a new review model for assessing the business climate for renewable energy in any country. Second, it offers an update on the state of renewable energy deployment in the ASEAN countries. Third, taking into account international best practices, it identifies the obstacles and solutions to attracting investment in renewable energy in Southeast Asia. The article finds that carbon lock-in is pervasive, regulatory practices have been copy-pasted from the fossil-fuel sector to the renewables sector, and, except for Malaysia and Vietnam, no ASEAN country has implemented a major pro-renewable energy governance reform. Certain advanced renewable energy measures, such as auctions and feed-in tariffs, have been adopted in some member states, but the institutional capacity to implement them is limited. The share of renewables in the energy governance system needs to be increased.

The geography of the creative class and its impact on regional development has been debated for some years. While the ideas of Richard Florida have permeated local and regional planning strategies in most parts of the Western world, critiques have been numerous. Florida's 3T's (technology, talent, and tolerance) have been adopted without considering whether the theory fits into the settings of a specific urban and regional context. This article aims to contextualize and unpack the creative class approach by applying the knowledge-base approach and break down the rigid assumption that all people in the creative class share common locational preferences. We argue that the creative class draws on three different knowledge bases: synthetic, analytical, and symbolic, which have different implications for people's residential locational preferences with respect to a people climate and a business climate. Furthermore, the dominating knowledge base in a region has an influence on the importance of a people climate and a business climate for attracting and retaining talent. In this article, we present an empirical analysis in support of these arguments using original Swedish data.

The aim of this study is to emphasize the link between the foreign direct investments (FDIs) and the sustainable environment in EU countries. We also focus on investigating the influence of other factors related to business environment on FDIs, considering the investors’ sustainable choice for the host countries, grouped according to FTSE Russell criteria. Using panel methodology and applying Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method of data analysis, the authors reached the conclusion that a better-rated business environment, with concern for sustainability, has more of a chance to attract larger sums of FDIs, mostly in the case of developed economies. This fact proves that the main advantage considered by a foreign investor in developed EU countries is represented by CO2 emissions (sustainable environment) and a good ease of doing business environment. The study highlights the factors that influence the decision of investing in developed countries, rather than in emerging and frontier ones. This paper contributes to the existing literature by identifying the group of countries which need a more sustainable approach to attract a large amount of FDIs, given that the inflow of FDIs is a crucial factor of economic growth, a possible source of innovation and technology, and a way to reduce poverty.

Following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s macroeconomic stability will worsen; foreign trade and Russia-bound investment will dry up; and human capital will become scarce. Russia will not fully compensate these losses with increased economic engagement with China, with particular deficiencies likely in high-tech areas for Russia. Import substitution is also unlikely to allow Russia to innovate its way out of economic isolation or escape the resource curse. As Kremlin-connected elites further dominate the impoverished economy, crony state capitalism and kleptocracy will rise. The global repercussions of Russia’s war will include commodity shocks and the attendant supply chain disruptions and inflationary pressures. In terms of FDI, the global industries in energy, auto, and consumer goods will be particularly affected. The loss of the Russian market will be less critical to sales revenues. Structurally, Russia’s forced decoupling from the global economy may lead to the fragmentation of global financial infrastructure and the formation of economically contained blocks.

The purpose of this study is to identify problems that impede the investment activities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as to study the recommendations of the leading representatives in the business community regarding the activities of the authorities in creating a favorable investment climate. Expert interviews with the Kazakhstan’s entrepreneurs, representatives of Akimats, and representatives of the scientific community have been conducted during the study. The results of the expert survey allow to conclude that the Republic of Kazakhstan has developed a rather favorable investment climate in general, and the authorities have done significant work to create conditions for business development. However, according to the expert review, some problems in the implementation of investment projects by SMEs still remain. According to the experts, the most significant problems include the underdeveloped transport and logistics infrastructure, the lack of available production and office space, and difficulties with registering land, attracting foreign labor, as well as obtaining various permits required for doing business. As a result of the study, the recommendations have been made for eliminating the barriers that hinder the creation of a favorable investment climate and the successful development of SMEs in the Republic of Kazakhstan. According to the experts, the attention should be focused on creating and developing ready-made platforms for doing business for investors, improving transport and logistics infrastructure, speeding up the state property privatization, etc.