Innovation and CO2 emissions: the complimentary role of eco-patent and trademark in the OECD economies

The impact of green innovation and renewable energy on CO2 emissions in G7 nations

This study aims to explore the effect of eco-innovation and renewable energy on carbon dioxide emissions (CDE) for G7 countries. Using regression models, the results reveal that eco-innovation and renewable energy lead to reducing CDE in the presence of governance variables. Additional analysis is conducted to examine whether Hofstede national culture dimensions moderate the nexus of "eco-innovation- carbon emission" and "renewable energy-carbon emission". The results show that individualism, long-term orientation, and indulgence dimensions moderate positively the eco-innovation-carbon emission relationship. Moreover, power distance and uncertainty avoidance dimensions moderate the relationship between renewable energy and CDE and help reduce carbon emissions. The outcomes of this study provide new insights and directives for policymakers and regulators. In fact, increased investment in eco-innovation and renewable energy will support the environmental agenda of G7 countries. National cultural dimensions should be taken into consideration to improve awareness of environmental quality. Moreover, the combination of governance indicators plays a key role in environmental sustainability.

Political competition and environment quality: a study of India

The focus of sustainable development goals (SDGs) is to promote the use of renewable energy so that countries can achieve better environmental quality. However, the progression is plodding, and still, 80% of energy comes mainly from conventional sources in developing countries. The implementation of procedures depends on the political attitudes, political stability, and quality of institutions. India has a diverse political structure ranging from central government to state government to local governments. In the late '80 s, India witnessed a stiff rise in regional and national political parties, which leads more political competition. This paper tries to explain the possible relationship between political competition and CO2 emission in India. With the application of the time series non-linear ARDL (NARDL) model, this study tries to find the asymmetric relationship between political competition and CO2 emission. In our empirical model, we also include other important elements of environmental quality like innovation and fossil fuel consumption. Empirical results show that political competition is asymmetrically related to CO2 emissions in the long run. Fossil fuel consumption and innovation also have a significant relationship with emissions. Based on the results, a few policy recommendations have been discussed.

Innovations effect on CO2 emissions: asymmetric panel data approach

The objective of this study is to uncover the nature and strength of the effect that innovations have on CO2 emissions. The main motivation of this research is to offer reliable and credible findings by eliminating some methodical and conceptual shortcomings of the existing papers. The scope of the analysis is examining the innovations-CO2 emissions relationship in a sample of 43 countries in the period from 1991 to 2018. The research is based on the application of hidden panel cointegration theory and the concept of a partially asymmetric cointegration equation. The main findings of the study demonstrate that when innovations grow by 1%, the pattern of their change leads to an increase in CO2 emissions by an average of 0.006%. At the same time, when innovations decline by 1%, their change leads to a reduction in CO2 emissions by an average of 0.001%. Strictly speaking, in the phase of innovations growth, they have environmentally hostile average influence, while in the phase of innovations reduction, their impact is on average environmentally friendly. The average effect of innovations is very asymmetric, because negative environmental impact is about six times stronger than the positive one. Analysis by countries demonstrates that innovations influence varies significantly from country to country. The impact is environmentally friendly in only 32.6% of countries, regardless of whether innovations increase or decrease. In the remaining cases, the influence on the environment is hostile either when innovations grow, when they decline, or in both situations. The main conclusion of this study is that nature of the impact of innovations on CO2 emissions is quite unfavorable, which points to the need for much greater support for green innovations.

Revisiting R&D intensity and CO2 emissions link in the USA using time varying granger causality test: 1870∼2020

R&D intensity, per capita GDP, and per capita CO2 emissions links in the USA over the period of 1870-2020 reflects the evolution of the economic development and technology for the environment benefit. Using Time varying Granger causality, the empirical results indicate both causal links between R&D intensity and per capita CO2 emissions and between per capita GDP and per capita CO2 emissions are time varying. In addition, R&D intensity significantly affects per capita CO2 emissions since 1975, and the per capita GDP significantly influences per capita CO2 emissions since 1978. That is, these findings not only in supportive of the EKC theory, but further disentangle the subtly linkages for the R&D intensity and CO2 emissions and the per capita GDP and CO2 emissions. Finally, the policy implication is that launch the new technical innovation and increase in R&D investment to maintain its sustainable economic growth are the best government strategy to reduce CO2 emissions in the USA.

Green investment, institutional quality, and environmental performance: evidence from G-7 countries using panel NARDL approach

The foremost purpose of the study is to establish a point that an economy of G-7 countries has an abundance of resources to tackle the environmental changes that occur in the world, but these countries are still behind the line because in this modern era, environmental performance changes their shape, dimension, and nature very frequently and create a huge impact on globalization of world economy. To fill this gap, we use green investment, institutional quality, and economic growth on environmental performance for this, we use four proxies for green investment and three proxies for greenhouse gas, and we also use six proxies of institutional quality to do this using period of 1997 to 2021. Moreover, we have used the panel nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag method to evaluate the long-run and short-run asymmetric effects of green investment, institutional quality, and economic growth on greenhouse gas emissions. The findings of the study affirm that the positive change of green investment has a positive and significant relationship with environmental performance, while the negative change of green investment has a significant and positive influence with environmental performance in the long run. Furthermore, the outcomes demonstrate that the positive shock of institutional quality has a positive and significant relationship with environmental performance, while the negative shock of intuitional quality has a significant and positive association with environmental performance in the long run, whereas positive change in economic growth has a positive and significant with the environmental performance, while the negative change of economic growth has a positive effect with environmental performance in the long run. This study finds future precautions that institutional quality has to perform exceptionally and shows results very rapidly, while green investment with economic growth has also made a deadly combination to control greenhouse gas emission, so the role of G-7 countries is pretty clear and straight. Furthermore, it is suggested that governments and policymakers take a proactive stance to promote resource acquisition and investment across all industries. To reduce gas emissions, public interest might also be complementary to private ones. So, economic policymakers, specifically in G-7 countries, should consider strategies that support sustainable economic growth.

Exploring the nexus link of environmental technology innovation, urbanization, financial development, and energy consumption on environmental pollution: Evidence from 27 emerging economies

The core intent of the present study seeks to probe the connection linking environmental technology innovation (ENVTI), economic growth (ECG), financial development (FID), trade openness (TROP), urbanization (URB) and energy consumption (ENC) on environmental pollution (ENVP) by employing 27 chosen African economies panel data. These variables merit critical attention when implementing decarbonization policies and significantly safeguarding a country's well-being in pursuit of massive industrialization and economic expansion. The fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), and the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation techniques were utilized to analyze the series from 2000 through 2020. This research used the FMOLS for long-run connections interaction of the variables, while the DOLS and PMG were used for robustness checks. Further, the Pedroni, Kao, and Westerlund cointegration approaches were employed to determine cointegration in the series. Also, the cross-sectional Im, Pesaran, and Shin (CIPS) and the cross-sectional augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) unit root testing approaches were utilized to check the stationarity of the series. Again, the stochastic impact on regression, population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) model, and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was used as the theoretical framework supporting this research. The findings of the long-run analysis give credence to the EKC assumption demonstrating that a significant long-term ECG will support the decrease in ENVP when nations experience increases in the level of income. Further, this study found that ENVTI and URB are conducive to reducing ENVP in the long run. The current research finding is sensitive to the respective nations' income levels. This empirical research furnishes prudent policies tailored for the respective countries' pursuit of ECG and reducing ENVP.

Environmental sustainability through aggregate demand and knowledge economy interaction-a case of very high-HDI countries

The magnitude of the economic activities is immense in very high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries, leading to environmental degradation, a crucial problem. This study is aimed at testing aggregate demand's role in the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) perspective and explores the role of four pillars of the knowledge economy, viz., technology, innovations, education, and institutions, as proposed by World Bank, in maintaining sustainable development of environmental quality in these countries. The analysis covers the period ranging from 1995 to 2022. The departure of normality of the variables provides a solid base for panel quantile regression (PQR). Unlike ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, which estimates the conditional mean of the dependent variable, PQR estimates the conditional quantiles. The estimated results using PQR confirm both U and inverted U-shaped aggregate demand-based EKC. In fact, these knowledge pillars in the model determine the shape of EKC. Results also reveal that two knowledge pillars, i.e., technology and innovations, are responsible for significantly reducing carbon emissions. In comparison, education and institutions are responsible for expanding carbon emissions. As a moderator, all knowledge pillars except institutions are shifting the EKC downward. The key lessons from these findings are that technology and innovation can reduce carbon emissions, while education and institutions may have a mixed impact. The relationship between knowledge pillars and emissions may be moderated by other factors, underscoring the need for further research. Moreover, urbanization, energy intensity, financial development, and trade openness significantly contribute to environmental deterioration.

The role of economic growth, information technologies, and globalization in achieving environmental quality: a novel framework for selected Asian countries

This study examines the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT), GDP growth, population, and globalization on the environmental quality of 31 Asian economies (i.e., categorized as lower middle-income, upper middle-income, and high-income groups Asian economies). This analysis employed the time series data from 1990 to 2018. The robust second-generation econometric technologies are used in this analysis. This study applied the Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) premises under the extended "STIRPAT model" to add population and GDP (per capita) and information technologies (ICTs) by employing ecological footprint. To estimate, the estimators of this study used the CS-ARDL estimates, and for robustness check, this study used the augmented mean group (AMG) test. The co-integration test found the long-run association between ecological footprint and its main determinants. The results of CS-ARDL have confirmed the imperative role of information technologies in mitigating the ecological footprint in the higher, upper-middle, and lower-middle-income economies of Asian economies. The statistical findings of this study are robust to diagnostic tests and alternative estimation proxies and techniques. Moreover, policymakers need to identify the direction of the information technology-ecological footprint nexus through cooperation in combating climate change with financial assistance in the ICT sector.

Do renewable energy consumption and green innovation help to curb CO2 emissions? Evidence from E7 countries

Global climate change is profoundly affecting human survival and development and is a major challenge facing the international community today. Therefore, this study aims to examine the effect of renewable energy consumption and green innovation on CO₂ emission reduction in E7 countries within the framework of macroeconomic indicators, and whether they can contribute to achieving carbon neutrality targets. To achieve the purpose of the study, firstly, the fully modified OLS, dynamic OLS, classical cointegration regression, Bayer-Hanck cointegration, and ARDL bounds test are employed in this study. The existence of a long-term cointegration or long-term linkage is confirmed by empirical evidence. Secondly, the empirical outcomes of FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR reveal that a 1% increase in renewable energy consumption and financial innovation reduces the CO₂ emissions by 0.357% (0.301%), 0.428% (0.336%), and 0.348% (0.306%), while a 1% rise in economic growth and inflation raises the CO₂ emissions by 0.881% (0.015%), 0.946% (0.043%), and 0.875 (0.022%), respectively. Similarly, the results of ARDL demonstrate that renewable energy consumption and financial innovation contribute to the improvement of environmental quality, while economic growth and inflation exacerbate the deterioration of environmental quality. However, green innovation has no apparent impact on environmental sustainability. Finally, in the short term, the paths of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on environmental sustainability under macroeconomic conditions are almost identical to those in the long term, while green innovation significantly improves the environmental quality of economic development in E7 countries. To sum up, to achieve sustainable economic and environmental development in the context of carbon neutrality, policy makers in developing countries should fully consider the role of renewable energy and green innovation, and actively strive to promote green and low-carbon energy development, to make new contributions to global environmental governance.

Consumption of energy from conventional sources a challenge to the green environment: evaluating the role of energy imports, and energy intensity in Australia

Conventional energy consumption such as coal, natural gas, and oil is a source of deteriorating environmental sustainability as well as a severe challenge to the green environment. The present paper explores the nexus between CO₂ emissions, energy imports, energy intensity, and power generation from renewable and non-renewable energies from 1990 to 2021 in Australia. Based on the ARDL model, the findings reveal that energy imports and power generation from non-renewable energy sources show an adverse effect on the green environment. A 1% increase in conventional energy imports leads to an 11% increase in CO₂ emissions. Similarly, a 1% increase in energy generation from conventional sources will increase CO₂ emissions by 45%. On the other hand, lower energy intensity and power generation from renewable sources reveal a positive effect on environmental quality. A 1% increase in energy intensity will decrease CO₂ emissions by 92% while energy generation from non-conventional sources by 15%. Most interestingly, energy intensity reveals the foremost position among all the selected variables to decarbonize and effectively transform conventional energy to clean and green energy production and utilization. The robustness test outcomes confirm the results of the empirical output. Furthermore, this study suggests that governments and policymakers should focus on the adaptation of lower energy intensity for the purpose to reduce CO₂ emissions and promote a clean and green environment. Finally, power generation from renewable energy sources plays an inevitable role which ultimately helps environmentally sustainability in Australia.

Dissipating environmental pollution in the BRICS economies: do urbanization, globalization, energy innovation, and financial development matter?

The question of how Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS countries) can substantially dissipate environmental pollution (EVP) remains unsolved. In this regard, this research explores the dynamic association between energy consumption (EGC), economic expansion (EXP), globalization (GLO), energy innovation (ENI), urbanization (URB), financial development (FID), and environmental pollution (EVP) using panel data from 1990 to 2020. This study integrated the augmented mean group (AMG), common correlated effect means group estimator (CC-MG), and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) model approach to estimate the long-run interaction among the series. The findings of this study reveal a positive and significant association between economic expansion, energy consumption, urbanization, financial development, and environmental pollution. In contrast, globalization and energy innovation extensively abate EVP in the BRICS economies. Moreover, the outcome of the Granger causality test indicates that energy consumption and energy innovation have a bidirectional association with EVP. The Granger causality test further revealed a unidirectional causality between globalization, urbanization, financial development, and environmental pollution. Finally, this research has implications for policymakers in the BRICS countries.

The role of green finance and energy innovation in neutralizing environmental pollution: Empirical evidence from the MINT economies

Pursuing ecological sustainability while mitigating the effects of environmental pollution has become a global pursuit. Moreover, the issue of how emerging economies like Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, and Nigeria (MINT) economies can significantly reduce environmental pollution (EVP) remains elusive. This study sought to investigate the interplay between economic growth, green finance, renewable energy use, natural resource rent, energy innovation, urbanization and environmental pollution by analyzing panel data from 1990 to 2020. This research employed the novel econometrics approach CS-ARDL to examine the short and long-term relationships among the series. The research outcome disclosed that economic growth, natural resource rent and urbanization increase environmental pollution. In contrast, the empirical findings of this study revealed that environmental pollution could be neutralized through effective mechanisms such as green finance, renewable energy consumption, and the promotion of energy innovation. This research provides a fresh insight from the MINT economies and contributes to the existing literature by examining factors contributing to environmental pollution. This research also provides a benchmark for policy-makers and governments to invest in environmentally-friendly technologies to exploit the natural resources in these countries to mitigate the effect of environmental pollution.

Energy efficiency and green innovation and its asymmetric impact on CO2 emission in China: a new perspective

Green innovation undoubtedly plays a significant role in generating employment opportunities, improving green economic activity, and increasing environmental sustainability. This study scrutinizes the effect of energy efficiency and green innovation on CO2 emissions for China using nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) from 1991 to 2019. Findings show that energy efficiency and green innovation contribute to reducing CO2 emissions in China. Energy efficiency and green innovation are also important nonlinear determinants of CO2 emissions. An increase in energy efficiency and green innovation lowers CO2 emissions, while a fall in energy efficiency and green innovation increases CO2 emissions in China in the long run. Some policy measures are suggested to attain carbon neutrality.

Does energy innovation play a role in achieving sustainable development goals in BRICS countries?

It is widely discussed that greenhouse gases (GHGs) are the main culprit behind global warming. The conventional energy sources (oil, coal, and gas) mainly realize GHGs in the atmosphere. Due to this, the world's countries are switching towards clean energy sources and investing more in projects related to innovation in the energy sector. Thus, this study investigates the role of energy innovation in combating GHGs emissions by taking the environmental Kuznets curve for BRICS economies. The FMOLS and DOLS estimators are employed throughout 1996-2016. The findings documented that energy innovation plays an important role in mitigating GHGs emissions. Moreover, the result strongly approves the EKC hypothesis for BRICS countries in the significance of energy innovation. Finally, it is recommended that expanding the public budget in energy R&D expenditures can help to reduce GHG emissions and promote sustainable growth in BRICS countries.

The cyclical impact of innovation in green and sustainable technologies on carbon dioxide emissions in OECD economies

This paper proposes a novel model for the cyclical and non-linear association between innovation in green and sustainable technologies and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions using foreign direct investment, gross domestic consumption, and renewable energy consumption as control variables for OECD economies. First, the findings validated the long-run cointegration among variables. Second, the significant long-term negative nexus between renewable energy consumption, positive shocks to innovation in green and sustainable technologies, and CO₂ emission was validated. Third, income per capita (GDP) and the negative shocks to innovation in green and sustainable technologies contributed to the CO₂ emissions. Based on these findings, this study offers some policy implications to mitigate CO₂ emissions.

The relationship between energy consumption, natural resources, and carbon dioxide emission volatility: empirics from G-20 economies

The present study investigates the causality between energy consumption, natural resources, and carbon emissions volatility. For empirical results, the study analyzed panel data of a Group of Twenty (G-20) countries from 1995 to 2018. The results of Pooled Mean Group (PMG) showed that the consumption of conventional energy sources increases the carbon emissions in the region under consideration. The results also showed that economic growth and carbon emissions are associated with each other according to the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis. The findings showed that rent on mineral resources, oil resources, and forest rent have a positive and significant impact on carbon emissions in G-20 countries. The findings of this study show the complex nature of the relationship between natural resources consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. The study suggests a three-dimensional policy framework for the group of twenty countries of economic cooperation to address the environmental issues with a special focus on natural resources preservation and green economic growth.

Disaggregated environmental impacts of non-renewable energy and trade openness in selected G-20 countries: the conditioning role of technological innovation

This study examines the disaggregated impacts of non-renewable energy (NRE) indicators comprising coal, gas, and fuel, and trade openness (TO) entailing imports and exports on environmental quality proxied by (carbon emission per capita, co2pc) in selected G-20 countries with the conditioning role of technological innovation (ecoi) from 1990 to 2018. The empirical analyses are evaluated using a battery of estimation techniques comprising augmented mean group (AMG), common correlated effect mean group (CCEMG), and mean group (MG), respectively. The following major results are evident from the analyses. First, coal, gas, fuel, and imports increase co2pc while exports reduce it. Second, the unconditional and conditional effects of technological innovation (ECOI) significantly reduce co2pc. These results are consistent with the robustness checks based on CCEMG and MG estimators. On the policy front, promoting technological innovation remains a veritable option to curtailing the devastating impacts of co2pc.

Renewable Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions—Testing Nonlinearity for Highly Carbon Emitting Countries

An increase in energy consumption indicates increased economic activity; whether it leads to prosperity depends on the sustainability and stability of the energy source. This study has selected the top ten highly carbon emitting countries to assess renewable energy consumption dynamics for 1991 to 2018. The development of renewable energy ventures is not an overnight transformation. Further, it also entails an infrastructure development gestation which may increase CO2 emissions for the short term. To assess this non-linear pattern with CO2 and its heterogeneities, renewable energy consumption and its three types (Wind, Solar and Hydropower) are used. The empirical results estimated with a pooled mean group (PMG) method indicate that renewable energy consumption and hydropower follows inverted U-shaped behavior, with wind and solar energy consumption behavior also U-shaped. Forest area and patents are responsible for carbon remissions, while economic growth is responsible for increasing carbon emissions in sampled countries.

Impact of globalization, foreign direct investment, and energy consumption on CO2 emissions in Bangladesh: Does institutional quality matter?

Bangladesh's recent doorway to the spectacular growth trajectory is largely associated with the shared contributions of globalization, FDI, trade, economic growth, urbanization, energy consumption, innovation, and institutional quality that affect its natural environment. Earlier studies hardly incorporated these dynamics together especially innovation and institutional quality to examine their impacts on environmental degradation in Bangladesh. This study attempts to scrutinize the effect of globalization, foreign direct investment, economic growth, trade, innovation, urbanization, and energy consumption on CO₂ emissions in the presence of institutional quality in Bangladesh over the period 1972-2016 by utilizing dynamic ARDL simulations' model by Jordan and Philips (2018). The investigated results depict that globalization; foreign direct investment, and innovation have a negative effect on CO₂ emissions in improving environmental quality while economic growth, trade, energy consumption, and urbanization positively impact CO₂ emissions and hence stimulate environmental degradation both in the long and short run. Besides, institutional quality measured by the political terror scale (PTS) affects CO₂ emissions positively and thereby degrades the quality of the environment in both the long and short run. Therefore, policy implication should go toward encouraging globalization, foreign direct investment and innovation; and the sensible utilization of income growth, trade potentials, energy consumption, urbanization and institution is required for the sake of environmental quality in Bangladesh.

The role of information and communication technologies for environmental sustainability: Evidence from a large panel data analysis

This study investigates the nexus between CO2 emissions and ICTs for a large sample of countries. We cover 93 countries over the period 1995-2016 and use three different variables as a proxy for ICTs, i.e., individuals using the internet, fixed telephone subscriptions, and mobile cellular subscriptions. From the methodological viewpoint, we first classify countries using an endogenous data-driven algorithm based on the transitional behavior of CO2 emissions and obtain country groups with low, middle, and high per capita CO2 emissions. After checking the long-run cointegration between CO2 emissions and its determinants in the second step, we thirdly estimate the parameters using three different mean group estimators by controlling the effect of globalization on the environment. The results confirm the presence of cointegration among the variables. Besides, information technology has a statistically significant and positive impact on CO2 emissions. However, this effect does not depend on the per capita CO2 emissions level of countries. The impact of globalization on CO2 emissions is statistically significant and negative in countries with high and middle per capita emissions. While income per capita is one of the most important determinants of CO2 emissions for all country clubs, the estimated coefficients of the population are found to be statistically insignificant. Based on these empirical findings, further policy implications for ICTs, CO2 emissions, globalization, and economic growth are discussed.

The hidden mediating role of innovation efficiency in coordinating development of economy and ecological environment: evidence from 283 Chinese cities

The advancement of technological innovations may facilitate the coordinated development of the economy and ecological environment (EGE); however, few studies have noted the role of innovation efficiency (INEF) as a bridge between economic development and EGE. To fill in this gap, this paper adopts DMSP/OLS nighttime light data to measure the level of economic development and the improved data envelopment analysis model to measure INEF, establishing an index system to quantify EGE. Then we propose the panel threshold-mediating (PTM) model that combines the panel threshold model and the mediating effect model. On these bases, considering INEF as a mediator, we use this novel PTM model to empirically test the nonlinear relationship between economic development and EGE in 283 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2018. The results indicate that (1) while economic development can improve EGE, its positive impact on EGE differs with different INEF thresholds. A higher INEF threshold indicates a stronger positive effect of economic development on EGE. (2) For the entire sample, the mediating effect of INEF between economic development and EGE is not significant. However, after applying the PTM model, we found that the mediating effect of INEF was concealed by the sample population. (3) When INEF is lower than 0.2381, its complete mediating effect is verified. When INEF is higher than 0.2381, its mediating effect is not significant. On the contrary, economic development directly improves EGE. (4) Industrial agglomeration, the scale of government expenditure, residents' education level, degree of opening up, and transport infrastructure are all conducive to EGE. These findings can help cities at different INEF levels to achieve coordinated development of economy and EGE.

ICT, energy consumption, financial development, and environmental degradation in South Africa

The ICT, energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂) relationship is examined for South Africa spanning the period 1970–2019, while controlling for the effects of financial development. The findings of the study based on the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL), Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS), and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) estimators show that ICT and fossil fuel consumption contribute to carbon dioxide emissions, while renewable energy consumption and financial development reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Specifically, the results show that a 1% increase in ICT activities will increase CO₂ emissions by 0.565% in the long-term, and any temporary shock to this long-run relationship is corrected by 93.20%. Further, there is no evidence of threshold effect of ICT on carbon emissions.

A technological innovation and economic progress enhancement: an assessment of sustainable economic and environmental management

This study examines the role of technological innovation and economic progress on environmental pollution by using STRIPAT and EKC theoretical frameworks in 25 developing Asian countries from the period 1998 to 2019. For technological advancement, the energy intensity has been used to gauge how much of the quantity of energy is employed to produce the additional unit of gross domestic product at domestic level. Therefore, the volume of the energy used in the production process is highly important as it is documented through the energy intensity. To capture the impact of innovation, the sum of total patent applications and trademark applications for the sampled countries has been used. This study applied second-generation unit root and panel cointegration techniques to estimate the results. To estimate the long-run relationship of variables and the cross-sectional interdependence, Pedroni Residual and Westerlund Cointegration tests are applied. Further, the Hausman-Taylor-type test has been used to check the efficiency of the pool mean group (PMG). The results of PMG regression confirm the existence of EKC in the developing Asian countries. The results of this study showed that technological development, innovations, and economic progress have the potential to reduce carbon emission and to protect the environment in developing Asian economies. Moreover, the results of error correction model indicate that in case of any external shock, this model will converge towards equilibrium within 64.6 years. The study proposed that a policy framework related to technological innovations should be sustained and the advancement of human capital and research and development should be the primary focus of the developing nations to mitigate the environmental challenges.

Examining the determinants of water resources availability in sub-Sahara Africa: a panel-based econometrics analysis

With the rapid development of economies, the problem of water resources availability particularly in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) has increased significantly. Specifically, in recent times, addressing the challenge of access to water resources has become a global issue of which countries in SSA are not exceptional since the adequate supply of potable water is as relevant as economic development. Consequently, this current paper seeks to estimate the determinants of water resources availability in sub-Sahara Africa. For this purpose, a panel-based regression model, which represents the availability of water resources, is specified based on the period 2000 to 2016 to examine a panel of 41 SSA countries sub-sectioned into low, lower-middle, and upper-middle-income nations. Considering the existence of residual cross-sectional reliance, outcomes based on the CIP and CADF unit root tests showed that the variables were not integrated at the same order. This thus leads to the employment of the PMG/ARDL estimation approach which unveiled that (i) agriculture production has a significant negative influence on H₂O in the lower-middle and low-income panel of SSA countries whereas in the upper-middle-income panel, an insignificant impact is witnessed; (ii) CO₂ emissions affect H₂O palpably in the upper-middle-income SSA panel while for lower-middle and low-income panels, an adverse effect is identified; (iii) economic growth adversely influenced H₂O resources in the lower-middle-income panel whereas in the case of the low-income panel, a significant positive liaison is evidenced; (iv) excluding low-income panel, industrial development concerning H₂O has a significant negative influence in upper-middle and lower-middle-income panels; (v) urbanization homogeneously showed a positive relationship with H₂O resources across all panels. The results are reconfirmed by the CCEPMG/CS-ARDL and MG employed as robust methods. Causality checks by Dumitrescu-Hurlin test finally revealed a mixture of results regarding the causal paths amid variables among the country panels. Policy recommendations have therefore been proposed based on the study findings.

Sustainability assessment using STIRPAT approach to environmental quality: an extended panel data analysis

The consequence of increasing economic activities is observable in the incidence of environmental deterioration. Many studies have explored the precedents of environment quality. In this regard, the proposed stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) and environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) analysis are valuable not only for academic analysts, but also for policymakers. This study has focused on 80 selected countries between 1990 and 2017, which confirms the existence of EKC within the STIRPAT framework. The results are estimated with the help of dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), which controls for the autocorrelation in long periods. According to the estimated results, this study confirms U-shaped EKC based on industrial-, agricultural-, and services-based economic activities. This means that over-reliance on one specific economic activity may harm the environment and create footprint. In this regard, urbanization is responsible for affecting carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, governance and technology are protecting the environment. This quadratic function had classified the sample countries in terms of the degree of sustainability of their economic activity sectors. This study proposes that countries should work on a balanced composition of economic activity so that the lowest possible environmental deterioration is caused.

COP21 Roadmap: Do innovation, financial development, and transportation infrastructure matter for environmental sustainability in China?

The purpose of the present study is to explain the long-run and causal effects of innovation, financial development, and transportation infrastructure on CO₂ emissions using the combined cointegration and wavelet coherence approaches over the period from 1971 to 2018, while using economic growth as a control variable in the model. The outcomes of the Bayer-Hanck cointegration test show that there is an important cointegration equation among CO₂ emissions, innovation, financial development, transportation infrastructure, and real GDP. Moreover, the findings from a wavelet power spectrum reveal that there is a significant vulnerability in innovation, financial development, transportation infrastructure, and CO₂ emissions at different time frames and frequencies. Furthermore, the outcomes of wavelet coherence approach reveal that (i) Innovation is observed as a significant predictor of CO₂ emissions over the period from 2007 to 2013; (ii) In the long run, there are negative correlations between CO₂ emissions and financial development; (iii) Over the periods from 2000 to 2015, and from 1985 to 1989, transportation significantly causes CO₂ emissions. Our findings have substantial policy implications that suggest there is a need to strengthen innovation and transportation infrastructure to achieve environmental sustainability targets.

The dynamics effect of green technology innovation on economic growth and CO2 emission in Singapore: new evidence from bootstrap ARDL approach

For an economy to excel in growth, there is usually a trade-off between financial development and environment deterioration. For a country like Singapore, which has shown a radical growth and is known for its population density, it is important to explore the role of green technology innovation in the pursuit of economic excellence with the least possible cost to the environment. By employing the novel bootstrap autoregressive-distributed lag (BARDL) technique using a time series data from 1990 to 2018, the results reported a positive and significant relationship of green technology innovation with economic growth and negative and significant relationship with carbon emissions in both long run and short run. Based on the findings, several managerial implications were discussed, whereas based on the limitations, directions for future researchers are also given.

Do energy technology innovations contribute to CO2 emissions abatement? A spatial perspective

With growing concerns about global warming, energy technology innovation has attracted attention from scholars. Many studies have explored the relationship between energy technology innovations and energy consumption, while the influence of energy technology innovation on carbon emissions (CEs) has not received enough attention. Utilizing the spatial econometric model, this study aims to examine whether energy technology innovations are beneficial for CO₂ emissions abatement in China. The results indicate that, first, renewable energy technology innovation facilitates CO₂ abatement, while fossil energy technology innovation is ineffective in reducing CEs. Second, the influences of energy technology innovations on CEs are trans-regional. Third, economic growth would agglomerate CEs from low-growth province to neighboring high-growth provinces; mandatory environmental regulation in China would transfer CEs from provinces with strict regulations to neighboring provinces with loose regulation. Based on these findings, a series of policy recommendations are put forward to tackle China's CEs. One possible innovation is that this study considers geographic location when investigating how energy technology innovations affect CEs.

How do environmental technologies affect green growth? Evidence from BRICS economies

Green growth has become one of the best alternative strategies for sustainable development. Although environmental technologies play a fundamental role in green growth, further investigations are required to understand whether and how environmental technologies affect green growth. Therefore, this study explores the role of environmental technologies in green growth by controlling renewable and non-renewable energy consumption for BRICS countries. To this end, the study conducts advanced panel data estimation techniques that produce robust results against endogeneity, heteroskedasticity, and cross-sectional dependence issues. Empirical results show that environmental-related technologies positively contribute to green growth. Results also confirm that renewable energy promotes green growth, but non-renewable energy is detrimental to green growth. BRICS countries need to improve innovations in the energy sector for achieving green growth and sustainability targets.