CURRENT ISSUE

ABSTRACT: Land-use/land-cover (LULC) simulation models predict the long-term effects of LULC changes under various scenarios. Patch-level land use simulation (PLUS) is a recently developed software that uses a rule-mining framework for LULC modelling. With a market share of 76% in the world, hazelnut is a strategic crop for Turkey. The hazelnut orchards have grown in Turkey since the first law was issued on 21 October 1935. This study was carried out to model the hazelnut orchards for 2030, 2042, 2054, and 2066 based on Samsun province and show the future impacts on land use types. Samsun was chosen as a case study due to the rapid expansion of hazelnut groves since 2006. According to PLUS results, by the year 2030, the increase in the hazelnut groves in Samsun is predicted as 9.38%, and hazelnut fields will be formed by the main transformation of open spaces with little or no vegetation, shrub and/or herbaceous vegetation associations, and forest; and this transformation will have severe effects on the ecosystem. The results clearly showed that hazelnut cultivation areas would continue to increase in the future and revealed that policymakers would need to conduct new regulations for environmental sustainability and to maintain Turkey’s power in this crop.

ABSTRACT: This paper examined the determinants (decomposed into enablers and de-enablers) of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to deepen the debate on enhancing the implementation of the social cost of carbon or carbon pricing. Data from world development indicators were utilized in this study. The study leverages the autoregressive distributive lag model, pairwise granger causality, and impulse response function tests. This study found that there is a long-run relationship between selected economic indicators and GHG emissions in the global economy. In the long run, the GHG emissions enablers are FDI inflow and fossil fuel consumption. On the other hand, de-enablers of GHG emissions are GDP growth rate and merchandise trade. However, gas, oil, and coal use for electricity and fertilizer consumption have mixed finding across the regions. Also, the study observed that there exists no causality between GHG emissions and selected finance-related variables. A 1% shock in GHG emissions generates monetary volatility. Based on the findings that global trade generates a similar impact on GHG emissions across high-income countries, low-income countries, and middle-income countries. This study recommends the imposing of carbon tax and cap-and-trade on the GHGs polluting sectors and countries involved in the production and distribution of economic goods (activities) enabling GHG emissions.

ABSTRACT: The region called the acronym Matopiba is an area composed of part of the states of Maranhão, Tocantins, Piaui, and Bahia. Agricultural production in the region is marked by large harvests of grains, especially soybeans, corn, and cotton. Considering that electricity is a vital development infrastructure, the present study analyzed the electricity consumption in the Matopiba region located in the state of Piauí was related to the total GDP (GDP), agriculture GDP (AGDP), and human development index (HDI) between the years 2000 to 2020. The results showed that in 2000 there was a strong positive correlation between GDP and AGDP (0.92), a moderate positive correlation between GDP and energy consumption (0.60), as well as AGDP and electricity consumption (0.67). Results indicated a low negative correlation between the HDI and the other variables. In 2020, the results indicated a strong positive correlation between GDP and AGDP (0.83), and a high positive correlation between GDP and energy consumption (0.83), while AGDP showed a low positive correlation with the consumption of electricity (0.46). The HDI, on the other hand, showed a low negative correlation with AGDP and a low positive correlation with GDP. On the other hand, it showed a moderate positive correlation with electricity consumption. It was also verified that there was a substantial rise in the HDI in the municipalities studied between 2000 and 2020, an increase in the region’s GDP and AGDP, and electricity consumption in the period studied. Therefore, we concluded that the increase in the electricity consumed in the region in the last 20 years is a positive indicator of Matopiba’s regional development.