Issue #3 (Volume 9 2018)

The paper deals with the analysis of methodology of Environmental Performance Index. The authors analyzed and systematized the main existing integrated indices, which were used for evaluation of environmental, social and economic situation in the countries. The authors allocated the environmental performance index as a basis for analyzing the environmental policy of the country. In this direction, the authors analysed the main features, structure and indicators of environmental performance index. The authors allocated the world-leader countries with huge level of CO2 emissions. According to the results, the authors aproved that these countries should improve their environmental policy. Accordingly, they occupied less position in environmental performance index. For the purpose to analyze the relation between ecological, social and economic welfare, the authors analyzed score of sustainable development goal index, social progress index and gross domestic product per capita. The comparison analysis of findings showed that countries with good position on environmental performance index have the strong position on sustainable development goal index and social progress index. The authors suggested that Ukraine should orient to the EU countries with purpose to improve the environmental policy.

Trade and investment have positive effects on economic growth and development, especially for developing countries, where trade openness could play a crucial role to eliminate poverty. But in the same way trade and investment can also harm the environment by producing GHG, pollutions and other environmental negative externalities. Since economic development, trade and environment are elaborately interconnected, it is indispensable to amalgamate environmentally affiliated issues on the development agenda. With expansion of economic activities and trade on the one hand and consequent threats to the environment on the other, the question of environment-friendly trade has emerged as a serious policy agenda in recent years. In that context, trade in climate smart goods (CSGs) is assumed to play a significant role in promoting sustainable development pathway. Given that China’s global trade is expanding at an unprecedented scale, the present paper is designed to analyze the trends and trading patterns of China’s trade in CSGs with the rest of the world. Based on the collected data covering the period of 1992 to 2016 from UN Comtrade, the analyses indicate that total trade in CSGs by China has been increasing, but its share in total trade volume is still very low. It is understood that China’s exports and imports of CSGs are dominated by a few products, namely photosensitive semiconductor devices (854,140), static converters (850,440), articles of plastic and arts of other material (392,690), photovoltaic system controller (853,710), discharge lamps, fluorescent (853,931), parts of electric motors, generators, generating sets and rotary converters (850,300), machine and mechanical appliance (847,989), other lead-acid accumulators (850,720), prism, mirrors and other optical elements unmounted (900,190), cooking appliances and plate warmers (732,111), gears and gearing, other than toothed wheels (848,340), other machinery, plant and equipment (841,989), filtering or purifying machinery and apparatus for gases (842,139), etc. While the major trading partners of China for CSGs are the USA, Japan, India, Malaysia, Germany, Korea Republic, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Russia, Brazil, Australia, Pakistan, Israel, among others.

This article summarizes the information on raw materials in the Czech Republic. Although mining was significantly reduced not long ago, there are still rich deposits of ores, non-metallic raw materials, as well as energetic and construction ones. Many of them are potentially utilizable in future, especially those which are economically favorable, and their mining is not in any conflict with environmental interests. Deposits are distributed irregularly, and their raw materials are different in both the Bohemian Massif and Western Carpathians. In order to be complete, the text also comprises deposits, which are restricted by environmental limits or their mining promises a low-cost effectiveness. The article is amended with actual statistical data.

Environmental responsibility mechanism in the public sector of the economy has an important sense in UN Sustainability Development Goals achievement, as well as in ensuring the competitiveness of the state-owned companies and the state as a whole. Sustainability concept, concept of “smart cities and smart communities” and the implementation of public administration reform, the necessity to increase the transparency of state-owned companies and the responsibility of municipalities to communities determine the reasonability and urgency in environmental responsibility mechanism development. Systematization and comparative analysis of world and national experience of environmental responsibility mechanism development in the public sector of the economy were made. The author’s approach to the structuring of the mechanism of environmental responsibility in the public sector was developed. Public policy peculiarities implementation in the field of environmental responsibility were investigated considering the levels of regulation of such liability: in state-owned companies as models for other sectors of the economy; in public authorities and municipalities.

Sustainable society development distinctly entails the issues of sustainable use of land and especially soils, which are the place and condition of human activity, the means of production that provide absolute value, and a unique natural resource. Ukraine possesses nine percent of the world’s black soil (chernozem) resources, which necessitates the development of sufficient economic and legal mechanisms for their effective use in ensuring food security within the country and worldwide, increasing the export potential of Ukraine subject to the soil quality restoration, and determines the scope of this work. The land reform in Ukraine as a component of economic reform has led to a significant deterioration of agricultural land, loss of humus from soils, their degradation, and other negative consequences threatening the country’s economic security and generating socio-economic and demographic crisis phenomena, especially in rural areas. Therefore, the study has identified priorities and has proposed the use of contractual mechanisms in the field of sustainable socio-economic use of land resources. The authors applied an integrated approach to the analysis of sustainable land use issues to achieve the study objective. This led to the use of a wide range of methodological tools, in particular, the dialectical method, the formal logical method, the logical legal method and the methods of analysis, synthesis and comparison. Defined provisions that determine the economic and legal mechanism of land use and should be ensured in the process of sustainable development: meeting the needs of landowners and other persons, including the priority needs – environmental and food security; an increase in the area of land not involved in the economic turnover, the adoption of measures aimed at the preservation and restoration of agricultural land, in particular compliance with the requirements for crop rotation, and, in some cases, their conservation; introduction of contractual relations in the field of land use.