Editorial: A strategic nexus for enhancing system resilience: advancing energy efficiency, reducing carbon emissions, managing water resources, and controlling air pollution in the industrial sector

). Recognizing that the traditional linear development model is no longer sustainable, this Research Topic was initiated to bridge the gap between isolated environmental targets and the need for a holistic system approach. Zhou and Wang (2026) further demonstrated that agricultural virtual water transfer networks are highly vulnerable to malicious attacks, yet priority recovery strategies can mitigate up to 45% of performance loss, underscoring the importance of dynamic network resilience assessment in cross-sectoral resource management. To achieve high-quality economic growth while meeting carbon neutrality targets, it is essential to establish a "Strategic Nexus" that synergistically advances energy efficiency, carbon reduction, water resource management, and pollution control. Effective coordination within this nexus requires a "whole-process governance" perspective-integrating source prevention, process control, and end-of-pipe treatment-to foster the dynamic convergence of collaborative capacities (Han et al., 2023).The fundamental motivation for this collection is to move beyond "siloed" solutions and explore how the core of this nexus lies in enhancing system resilience-the ability of industrial systems to maintain stability, adapt to external shocks (such as power shortages or policy shifts), and continuously optimize under environmental constraints. This resilience is further strengthened by the synergistic effects of low-carbon city and sci-tech finance pilots, which collectively stimulate authentic green innovation (Han et al., 2026). However, the system must remain vigilant against "green innovation bubbles," where firms driven by short-term capital orientations prioritize strategic patent quantity over substantive environmental quality (Suo and Qiao, 2025). This Research Topic collects 10 cutting-edge studies that explore this strategic nexus from multiple dimensions, ranging from micro-level enterprise innovation to macro-level environmental regulation.Technological progress and rational policy design are primary drivers for breaking environmental constraints. Li and Cao (2025) utilized data from 272 Chinese cities to confirm that green technology innovation (GTI) significantly reduces urban carbon emission intensity, mediated by environmental regulations and energy consumption structures. However, policy efficacy is not always linear. Fu et al. (2025), using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces, identified a "U-shaped" relationship between environmental regulation intensity and carbon emission efficiency (CEE). Currently, environmental regulations tend to inhibit efficiency, suggesting the inflection point has not yet been reached. This finding provides a critical template for policy calibration, suggesting that simply increasing regulatory pressure is insufficient; rather, policymakers must design "precision regulations" that cross the necessary intensity threshold to trigger the Porter Hypothesis effect, ensuring that environmental costs are offset by innovation-led efficiency gains. Furthermore, Liang et al. (2025) found that while high-tech enterprise certification promotes green innovation overall, enterprises often prioritize "strategic innovation" (quantity) over "substantive innovation" (quality) to capture policy dividends. This distortion often leads to a "green patent bubble," characterized by a proliferation of low-quality patents that lack substantive environmental benefits (Wang et al., 2025). Such bubbles are frequently exacerbated by climate policy uncertainty, which drives firms toward short-term R&D orientations (Wang et al., 2026), and ESG rating disagreements that trigger managerial myopia (Geng et al., 2024). Consequently, while place-based policies can significantly boost the quantity of green patents, they may fail to enhance innovation quality in less developed regions (Lee and Nie, 2023), highlighting the need to prevent a "green patent bubble" (Suo and Qiao, 2025). In the agricultural sector, Wenyan et al. ( 2025) revealed the potential of digital transformation, finding that digital agriculture not only directly reduces carbon emissions but also bridges the regional digital divide through positive spatial spillover effects.The decarbonization of energy systems is the cornerstone of industrial resilience. 2025) constructed a Markal-Macro model for the steel industry, predicting that under a baseline scenario, the industry could peak its carbon emissions by 2027 through optimized energy structures and efficiency improvements. However, the transition process is not without risks. Li et al. (2025) offered a critical perspective on system vulnerability, revealing that power shortages actually lead to increased CO2 emissions among listed firms. This occurs because electricity instability hinders technological innovation and distorts resource allocation, forcing firms to rely on less efficient backup generation or high-carbon energy, thus emphasizing that supply security is a prerequisite for a low-carbon transition.Effective environmental governance requires cross-regional and multi-pollutant coordination. Yu et al. (2025) used the Yangtze River Economic Belt as a case study to demonstrate that cross-regional coordination policies can catalyze co-benefits, reducing both pollution and carbon emissions through industrial upgrading and technology diffusion. At the city level, Xiong et al. (2025) analyzed the drivers of air pollution in the megacity of Chengdu. They identified significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity in pollutants like PM2.5 and O3, driven by a complex interplay of socio-economic factors (population, GDP) and geographical conditions, calling for zoning control strategies.Finally, addressing water resources, Khajuria and Rajput (2025) In conclusion, the research collected in this Research Topic not only reveals the multi-dimensional characteristics of industrial system resilience but also reshapes our strategic understanding of achieving industrial sustainability. Constructing this "Strategic Nexus" necessitates driving three critical transitions in future research and practice: First, a transition from "broad incentives" to "precision regulation" is imperative to address the misalignment between innovation inputs and actual environmental outputs, a phenomenon increasingly recognized as the "green innovation bubble." The scrutiny of strategic innovation by Liang et al. (2025) and the identification of the "Ushaped" non-linear relationship in environmental regulation by Fu et al. (2025) collectively suggest that policymakers must move beyond simplistic quantitative metrics. To effectively curb these bubbles (Geng et al., 2024), future policy design should prioritize the "substantive" quality of innovation and identify the optimal inflection point for regulatory intensity to avoid "symbolic" innovation behaviors within strategic alliances (Wang et al., 2025). By incorporating "new-quality productivity" as a benchmark, regulators can prevent the inflation of "green patent bubbles" and maximize the overall efficiency of environmental governance.Second, a transition from "siloed governance" to "systemic synergy" is essential to harmonize the conflicting demands of energy security and environmental sustainability. Whether it is the integration of clean energy with R&D emphasized by Cai et al. (2025), or the counter-intuitive impact of power shortages on carbon emissions revealed by Li et al. (2025), evidence suggests that energy security is inseparable from the low-carbon transition. True resilience stems from optimizing energy structures and advancing electrification without compromising the stability of energy supply. Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that complex systems possess a critical "tipping point"-for instance, quantified at 104.74% of original shock intensity in specific disaster scenarios-beyond which subsystems collapse and lose their selfrecovery capacity (Wu et al., 2024). Therefore, achieving systemic synergy requires city managers to dynamically adjust resource allocation strategies based on the current resilience level, balancing functional investments to prevent the system from reaching such irreversible thresholds. To achieve this, policy frameworks must mitigate the "distortions" caused by climate policy uncertainty, which often drive firms toward short-term R&D orientations at the expense of long-term sustainability (Yang et al., 2026). By fostering a coordinated mechanism between energy departments and innovation regulators, the system can ensure that fiscal subsidies translate into genuine technological breakthroughs. Third, a transition from "administrative boundaries" to "ecological boundaries" is required to address the inherent transboundary nature of environmental challenges and regional disparities. The studies by Yu et al. (2025) and Wenyan et al. (2025) highlight the significant spatial spillover effects of pollution and technology. This demands that environmental governance break through administrative barriers to establish crossregional coordination mechanisms based on ecosystem integrity-such as those in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Furthermore, leveraging place-based policies can provide targeted support for less-developed regions, fostering economic agglomeration and enhancing local innovation capacity (Lee & Nie, 2023). By utilizing digital tools to bridge the governance gap between urban and rural areas, authorities can create a unified ecological network that prevents "greenwashing" and promotes high-quality sustainable development across all spatial scales.