Green ports or green paradox? Empirical evidence from Norwegian port municipalities

Households are responsible for more than one-third of global energy consumption and exert a significant environmental impact. Therefore, energy efficiency and renewable energy issues have been a top theme in the literature, with numerous studies examining different facets of residential power consumption, green energy transition, decarbonization, and energy conservation. Despite extensive attention, these research trends and frontiers remain largely uncharacterized and poorly understood. This study aims to provide clear insights into the evolution and latest trends of household energy efficiency and renewable energy studies, reveal significant contributing countries, institutions, and authors of published papers, as well as directions of international collaboration. The method of bibliometric analysis with two supporting instruments (the SciVal platform and Scopus “Analyze search results” tool) was used to investigate an array of 3,761 research items on renewable energy and 4,474 items on energy efficiency in homes formed from the Scopus database. The studied period includes papers published during 1978–2023. The systematic review indicated that the United States, the United Kingdom, and China are primarily contributing countries with strong international collaboration in this field. The top journals include Energy Policy, Energy Efficiency, Energies, and Sustainability, while highly cited researchers investigate environmental, economic, and social effects and management mechanisms for introducing innovative energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies in households like smart meters and grids or the Internet of Things. The research frontier might encompass emerging and pioneering studies on home decarbonization strategies, behavioral interventions, energy saving, prosumerism, and optimization of energy consumption.

Acknowledgment
The paper is prepared within the framework of the research project “Formation of economic mechanisms to increase energy efficiency and provide sustainable development of renewable energy in Ukraine’s households” (No. 0122U001233), funded by the National Research Foundation of Ukraine.

A transition toward sustainable logistics is crucial for Hungary’s automotive industry, which remains a main contributor to environmental degradation through its reliance on carbon-based supply chains. This study aims to examine how green technology, policy regulation, and infrastructure availability influence sustainability outcomes for the industry, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and improving operational efficiency. Partial least squares structural equation modeling with 2015–2023 empirical data was employed. The model examined direct and moderate effects of such factors on lowering carbon footprint and sustainability performance, as well as on implementation cost, firm size, and demand.
The results suggest a significant impact on carbon footprint reduction (path coefficient = 0.32) and sustainability performance (0.38) through the adoption of green technology. Availability of regulatory frameworks (0.29 for reduction of carbon footprint; 0.25 for sustainability performance) and infrastructure (0.35 and 0.40, respectively) also have a significant impact. High implementation costs (–0.22 and –0.18) and the complexity of the supply chain (–0.15 and –0.17) have a negative impact, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises. Moderation analysis shows that firm size (0.22) and strong demand (0.26) enhance the benefits of adopting green technology.
The indications are toward enhancing regulatory enforcement, raising financial aid schemes, and upgrading logistics infrastructure as a solution for Hungary’s accelerating adoption of sustainable logistics practices. Public-private partnerships are put forward as a strategic solution for bridging infrastructure and investment gaps and enabling long-term economic and environmental advantages for the automotive logistics industry.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Many countries face the need for structural transformation of their economies, particularly in terms of environmental and climate aspects. Global decarbonization initiatives have forced Kazakhstan to revise its economic policy priorities as well as legal regulation in several spheres. The objective of this study was to identify the existing legal challenges confronting Kazakhstan in fulfilling its international commitments to achieve carbon neutrality. The methodological basis is presented by political and legal analysis. Persistent issues in Kazakhstan’s pursuit of carbon neutrality include the absence of clear and transparent mechanisms for allocating CO₂ emissions quotas, insufficient harmonization with international law, poor institutional coordination, and a lack of legal instruments to incentivize businesses and ensure public participation. Some decarbonization decisions conflict with other government programs and priorities, such as plans to increase hydrocarbon production. From a formal legal perspective, the key challenges for Kazakhstan include unclear mechanisms for implementing the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), the absence of legal tools for abandoning fossil fuels, insufficient transparency of the NDC, and weak formalization of the consultation mechanism with stakeholders (including NGOs and the private sector). Among the challenges identified, there are an absence of an institutional basis for the functioning of a single center for managing climate policy, problems of law enforcement, as well as a lack of generalized judicial practice.

Acknowledgment
This research has been/was/is funded by the Science Committee of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan (Grant No. AP23490668). Project IRN AP23490668 “Legal aspects of processing and disposal of solid municipal waste in the Republic of Kazakhstan: problems and prospects”.