Linking financial development, economic growth, and ecological footprint: what is the role of technological innovation?

Economic complexity, greenfield investments, and energy innovation: policy implications for sustainable development goals in newly industrialised economies

The crucial role of environmental assessment quality has been recognised by environmental and sustainable development goals in addressing climate change challenges. By focusing on the key identifier of environmental assessment, progress can be made towards overcoming climate change issues effectively. The current study considers environmental commitments under COP28 to study the role of economic complexity, greenfield investments, and energy innovation in environmental degradation in newly industrialised economies from 1995 to 2021. We employ novel panel estimations from CS-ARDL, CS-DL, AMG, and CCEMG to confirm that economic growth and greenfield investments degrade environmental quality. On the other hand, energy innovation and urbanisation improve environmental sustainability. Lastly, we confirm the EKC hypothesis for economic complexity as well. Given the reported empirical findings, the study suggests policymakers must focus on economic complexity to transform industrial sectors' economic potential. Furthermore, foreign investment projects must be linked with environmental goals to increase renewable energy capacity.

Navigating sustainable horizons: exploring the dynamics of financial stability, green growth, renewable energy, technological innovation, financial inclusion, and soft infrastructure in shaping sustainable development

This paper examines sustainable development, which employs an integrated approach to tackle environmental, social, and economic challenges. It provides a theoretical underpinning by examining sustainable development's inception, fundamental tenets, and conceptual structures. This study highlights the interdependence of social equity, economic prosperity, and environmental conservation, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach. Quantitative methodology is utilized in this study, and the dependent variable is sustainable development. Financial risk, green growth, technological innovation, renewable energy, financial inclusion, and soft infrastructure are all independent variables. The analysis is predicated on secondary data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and World Development Indicators databases spanning 2004 to 2019. An entropy-weighted method used for the green growth index is a metric that enhances the precision of variable indicators. Cointegration, correlation, VIF, cross-sectional dependency, and stationarity tests are among the diagnostic tests that inform the selection of methods for the panel data set. It is determined that fully modified ordinary least squares is the suitable technique. The findings suggest statistically significant positive correlations among greenhouse gases, financial inclusion, and soft infrastructure. Conversely, significant negative correlations exist between financial risk, green growth, renewable energy, and technological innovation. An estimated 55% long-run variance is present. The study's key finding is that financial risk has an adverse effect on sustainable development, while an impactful relationship where increased green growth is linked to decreased GHG emissions. This association is notably significant. Results show that renewable energy has a negative coefficient and significant negative impact on greenhouse gases, showing an active relation to enhancing sustainable development. In contrast, financial inclusion has a significant positive effect on sustainable development. The implications imply that providing incentives to institutions engaged in alternative energy, precisely renewable sources, could positively impact the environment. Government policies and funding regulations oriented toward sustainable development are indispensable for environmental sustainability. Government policies and incentives are pivotal in advancing an environmentally conscious and sustainable future. This study's contribution lies in elucidating the positive correlation between government interventions and promoting renewable energy adoption, thereby paving the way for a greener tomorrow.

Asymmetric impact of patents on green technologies on Algeria's Ecological Future

This study examines how patents on green technologies impact Algeria's ecological footprint from 1990 to 2022 while controlling for economic growth and energy consumption. The objectives are to analyze the asymmetric effects of positive and negative shocks in these drivers on ecological footprint and provide policy insights on leveraging innovations and growth while minimizing environmental harm. Given recent major structural shifts in Algeria's economy, time series data exhibits nonlinear dynamics. To accommodate this nonlinearity, the study employs an innovative nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach. The findings indicate that an upsurge in green technologies (termed as a positive shock) significantly reduces the ecological footprint, thereby enhancing ecological sustainability. Interestingly, a decline in green technologies (termed as a negative shock) also contributes to reducing the ecological footprint. This highlights the crucial role of clean technologies in mitigating ecological damage in both scenarios. Conversely, a positive shock in economic growth increases ecological footprint, underscoring the imperative for environmentally friendly policies in tandem with economic expansion. Negative shocks, however, have minimal impact. In a similar vein, positive shock in energy consumption increases ecological footprint, underlining the importance of transitioning towards cleaner energy sources. Negative shock has a smaller but still noticeable effect. The results confirm asymmetric impacts, with positive and negative changes in the drivers affecting Algeria's ecological footprint differently. To ensure long-term economic and ecological stability, Algeria should prioritize eco-innovation and green technology development. This will reduce dependence on fossil fuels and create new, sustainable industries.

Examination of the factors contributing to environmental degradation: does LPG consumption still matter?

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is one of the energy resources that deserve to be qualified as a transition fuel for developing countries that cannot abandon their dependence on non-renewable energy use and adopt renewable alternatives. The current study examines how environmental degradation is affected by financial development, LPG use, and economic growth in the BRICS-T countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkiye) in the period of 1993-2018. For this purpose, four models were tested with Pedroni, Kao, PMG Panel ARDL cointegration and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality methods. The results show that LPG consumption has a positive effect on the ecological footprint and an adverse influence on the CO2 emission of BRICS - T countries. The financial institutions exhibited to have a positive and significant impact on ecology. Economic growth displayed negative effects on environmental degradation and a positive influence on CO2. Additionally, there is significant evidence for the validity of the EKC hypothesis. Unidirectional causality exists between ecological footprint, LPG, financial market, and economic growth. The financial institution index shows bidirectional causality with the ecological footprint. There is also unidirectional causality between ecological footprint, LPG, financial market, and economic growth. Furthermore, the financial institutions' index shows a bidirectional causality with the ecological footprint. Also, economic development and financial institution index have a bidirectional relationship with CO2 emissions. On the other hand, the financial market index showed unidirectional causality with CO2 emissions. In short, our study highlights the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to sustainable development in BRICS - T countries. Policymakers must balance economic growth with environmental protection and consider the potential trade-offs between policy options to promote sustainable and inclusive development.

Evaluating the impact of technological innovation and energy efficiency on load capacity factor: empirical analysis of India

The determinants of environmental degradation have been investigated many times by utilizing carbon dioxide emissions and/or ecological footprint. However, these traditional environmental degradation indicators do not consider the supply side of environmental problems. Therefore, this study focuses on the dynamic influence of financial development, energy efficiency, economic growth, and technological innovation on environmental degradation in India through the load capacity factor, including both the supply and demand sides of environmental problems. For that purpose, the recently developed dynamically simulated autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is employed using the annual time-series data extending from 1980-2020. The dynamically simulated ARDL results demonstrate that financial development, economic growth, and technological innovation have a dynamic adverse impact on the load capacity factor, whereas energy efficiency has a positive dynamic influence on environmental quality. In addition, the results support the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis as the negative effect of economic growth on environmental quality decreases over time. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations are provided for India. Finally, this study utilizing load capacity factor as an indicator for environmental quality will provide new topics in exploring the determinants of environmental degradation.

Ecological footprints and sustainable environmental management: A critical view of China's economy

Global economies have recently been concerned about sustainable environmental management by reducing emissions and tackling ecological footprints. The rapid economic expansion and investment in traditional manufacturing further raises environmental degradation. China surpasses other emerging economies in the economic growth race yet has remained the top pollution-emitting economy for the last few decades, necessitating scholarly attention. This study examines the influencing factors of ecological footprints in China from the perspective of COP27. Using the extended dataset from 1988 to 2021, this study uses several time series diagnostic tests and verifies the existence of the long-run association between the study variables. Consequently, the non-linear scattered data leads to non-parametric (method of moment quantile regression) adoption. The empirical results indicate that only economic growth is a significant factor in environmental quality degradation in China. However, improving renewable energy usage, research and development, and foreign direct investment reduces the country's ecological footprint. Hence, the latter variables substantially lead to environmental sustainability. The robustness of the results is confirmed via a robust non-parametric estimator and causality test. Based on the empirical results, this study recommends increased investment in research and development, renewable production, and foreign direct investment enhancement.

Revisiting the nexus between economic growth and environment health: an empirical study on 180 nations

Sustainability is considered to be one of the biggest issues in the current time. This study aims to understand the role of sustainability further by revisiting the much-debated and intricate relationship between economic growth and environmental performance and to provide guidance to policymakers. Using a large sample of data from 180 countries over the period from 2002 to 2017 a measure that captures the various aspects of environmental performance, the study performs a test of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, which defines the relationship between economic growth and environmental deterioration. Controlling for several associated macroeconomic and governance variables, the results suggest that for certain regions, viz. Asia, Eastern Europe, and North America, higher economic growth, as proxied by per capita GDP, has a negative association with environmental performance (measured by Environmental Performance Indices, EPI), indicating that the former may prove detrimental to the later. The results suggest a unidirectional relationship between the two variables and are also robust to endogeneity concerns that are often emphasized in the EKC literature. The study documents similar results for lower-income and lower-middle-income countries. Interestingly, the authors also find that small-sized governments in developing nations have a positive association with environmental performance.

Understanding the Role of Technology in Asian Economies: The Environmental Impact of Remittances and Economic Complexity

In recent years, scholars have determined various determinants of environmental degradation using the panel and time-series studies. However, technological innovations (TI) and remittances, among the financial system's essential components, are relatively ignored. In addition, nations' economic progress and environmental performance also depend upon the nature of their economic structure. This empirical research investigates the effects of TI, remittances and economic complexity (EC) on CO2 controlling economic growth and trade openness (TR) in the selected 15 Asian nations. The study collected panel data of 15 Asian countries from 1990 to 2019 and employed the panel quantile regression and augmented mean group methods to unveil the impacts of variables on CO2 emissions. The empirical findings established that remittances are negatively linked with CO2 emissions. Similarly, EC reduces CO2 emissions in the context of Asian countries. In addition, EC and remittances Granger cause CO2 emissions. These findings indicate that remittances and EC positively contribute to environmental quality in Asian countries. Conversely, TI, economic growth, and TR intensify CO2 emissions in Asian countries. Finally, the study recommended policies to enhance remittances and EC in Asian countries to curb environmental degradation.

Nexus between biomass energy, economic growth, and ecological footprints: empirical investigation from belt and road initiative economies

Several emerging economies, including economies in belt and road initiative (BRI), are experiencing difficulty attaining sustainable development goals. The efficient utilization of biomass energy sources plays an essential role in attaining sustainable development goals, especially among developing economies. This study empirically investigates the ecological footprints, biomass energy demand, and per capita income association for 30 BRI economies from 1995 to 2021. The study incorporates cointegration and panel quantile regression (PQR) to identify the relationship among discussed variables. Empirical outcomes indicate a negative significant biomass energy demand and ecological footprints relationship, especially among the economies with high traits of ecological footprints. Moreover, the empirical findings also confirm the negative significant per capita income and ecological footprints relationship, while the square of per capita income approves a significant positive association with ecological footprints. These estimates confirm the EKC hypothesis among per capita income and ecological footprints. The findings of the current study help to determine the optimum level of modern biomass energy consumption, which helps to attain economic growth without compromising ecological sustainability.

Is fiscal deficit 'curse' or 'haven' for environmental quality in India? Empirical investigation employing battery of distinct ARDL approaches

Undoubtedly, throughout the past half-century, environmental quality has emerged as a significant obstacle to both economic and social endeavors. Recent local and international policy debates have focused on environmental deterioration and global warming, but how governments balance economic growth and environmental sustainability is still enigmatic. For this reason, we have examined the determinants of environmental quality in India from 1972 to 2021. More specifically, we have investigated whether the fiscal deficit is 'curse' or 'haven' for environmental quality (CO2) in India. Moreover, this study deliberated four other predictors, comprising technological development (TIN), fossil fuel consumption (FFC), urbanization (Ub), and human capital index (HCI). In order to attain this objective, a range of econometric estimation techniques are employed to ensure the validity and reliability of the outcomes. For instance, we have employed a battery of ARDL approaches, such as standard ARDL, nonlinear ARDL, and multiple threshold NARDL approaches. In light of our research findings, we will be focusing directly on the examination of the NARDL and MTNARDL outcomes. This is due to the empirical evidence indicating the existence of asymmetric effects resulting from FD on CO2 emissions in India. The NARDL approach reveals that the consequence of fiscal deterioration is more pronounced, and the influence of fiscal progress is mild in terms of CO2 emission growth. Further, the outcomes of the MTNARDL approach revealed that the size of the extremely low changes in FD is much higher than the extremely high changes in FD in both models. This implies that as the FD rises, CO2 ascends more significantly, and when the FD lowers, CO2 declines progressively. In a nutshell, FD has a long-run positive and asymmetric impact on CO2 in India; thus, we may conclude that FD is considered the 'curse' for CO2 in India. Furthermore, TIN, HCI, and Ub have detrimental effects on CO2, whereas FFC stimulates CO2 in India. This research work provides some important policy implications for environmentalists, economists and macroeconomic policymakers to promote a green and healthy environment.

Do natural resources affect environmental quality in MINT Economies? The role of tourism and financial development

With the growing nature of the ecological footprint, research studies focus on exploring new determinants of environmental degradation. Moreover, the role of natural resources and energy consumption in environmental quality has gained much attention in the literature. However, tourism raises the demand for energy consumption and extraction of natural resources. This research study investigates the influence of natural resources, tourism, and renewable energy in MINT countries, using novel Cross-Sectional Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (CS-ARDL) methodological techniques and employing yearly data from 1995 to 2018. The study also applied recently developed Kónya (Econ Model 23:978-992, 2006) causality to identify the causal relationship between the variables of the heterogenous panel. The result shows that tourism, natural resources, and economic growth are positively associated with the ecological footprint in the long-run. However, renewable energy consumption negatively impacts ecological footprint in both in short-run and the long-run. Further, the study explored a bidirectional causality between economic growth and ecological footprint in MINT countries. Finally, based on the empirical results, the study recommends that the authorities in MINT countries revisit their tourism, natural resources, and economic activities policies to enhance the environmental quality and reduce the ecological footprint.

Impact of technological innovation and renewable energy on ecological footprint in G20 countries: The moderating role of institutional quality

The connection between ecological footprint and economic complexity has significant implications for environmental sustainability regarding the policy. Additionally, institutional quality is crucial in ensuring environmental sustainability and moderating the link between economic complexity and ecological footprint. The task of achieving sustainable environmental development and preventing further degradation of the environment poses a formidable challenge to policymakers. This study delves into the significance of technology innovation and renewable energy in creating a more sustainable environment. Recognizing the need for a more critical review, this research establishes the dynamic linkage between ecological footprint, renewable energy consumption, and technological innovation, especially in conjunction with a moderating component, particularly institutional quality, in G20 countries from 1990 to 2021. We employ advanced panel approaches to address panel data analysis concerns, such as cross-sectional dependence, slope heterogeneity, unit root, cointegration test and CS-ARDL. The long-term estimator indicates that renewable energy and technological innovation negatively but significantly impact the ecological footprint. Whilst economic growth, FDI, and urbanization have shown a positive and significant impact on ecological footprint; institutional quality negatively moderates the relationship between ecological footprint, renewable energy, and technological innovation in the G20 countries. Further evidence from the Dumitrescu-Hurlin Granger causality test shows that efforts to expand access to renewable energy, technological advancements, and economic growth will significantly affect environmental impacts. Based on our results, it is imperative to introduce more favorable legislation and encourage technological advancements in the field of renewable energy if we want to achieve our sustainable development objectives.

Transitioning towards a sustainable environment: the dynamic nexus between economic complexity index, technological development and human capital with environmental quality in India

This paper aims to investigate the dynamic nexus between economic complexity index (ECI), technological development (TIN), human capital (HC) and environmental quality in India for transition towards a sustainable environment. This study is based on secondary data covering the period from 1985 to 2018. For empirical analysis, this study applied "Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology" (STIRPAT) model framework under the estimation of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model and vector error correction model (VECM) model. The empirical findings of model 1 show ECI, TIN, HC and urbanization (URB) as the helping hands to mitigate the problem of environmental degradation by shrinking the level of EF, whereas for model 2, ECI and TIN failed to influence the CO2 emissions, but HC served as a stimulant for environmental quality enhancement by declining the level of CO2 emissions. In contrast, GDP growth and URB strengthen the CO2 emissions levels. Moreover, in VECM framework, estimated findings reveal that the covariables Granger-cause EF and CO2 emissions, inferring that causality flows asynchronously from its covariables to EF and CO2. Impulse response function (IRF) revealed that the responses in EF and CO2 emissions ascribed to changes in its covariables. The outcome of the study has some implications for environmental policy strategists to prepare sustainable environment policies and other responsible authorities for sustainable development goal (SDGs), academician and scholars. All the stakeholders involved in environmental economics and policymakers can evaluate this study to design proper policy framework with respect to the environment. There are few studies that explore the dynamic nexus between ECI, TIN and HC with environmental quality in the control environment of URB and GDP growth using the STIRPAT model for India.

Investigation of barriers and mitigation strategies to blockchain technology implementation in construction industry: an interpretive structural modeling approach

Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing transparency, efficiency, and security in various industries, including construction. However, implementing blockchain in the construction industry faces several barriers that hinder its widespread adoption. To fill this gap, this study is aimed at identifying and discussing the key barriers to implementing blockchain in the construction industry. The study employs a four-phase methodology. In the first phase, barriers are identified through a comprehensive literature review and supplemented with semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders, identifying critical barriers. The second phase involves data collection from ten construction experts, while the third phase utilizes the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique for data analysis. In the fourth phase, ten effective strategies are formulated to tackle the identified barriers and their interdependencies. The results reveal the overall structure of barriers and classify them into four groups based on driving and dependence power using the cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to the classification (MICMAC) technique. The identified barriers include a lack of collaboration in consortium formation, insufficient capacity and performance, and regulatory uncertainty, which hinders blockchain implementation in the construction industry. The research findings provide valuable information for policymakers on the overall structure with barriers and implementation in India and other countries with similar situations. Additionally, the management implications of the results were analyzed to facilitate the effective implementation of measures to overcome the obstacles and increase the level of blockchain adoption in the construction industry.

The effect of financial development and economic growth on ecological footprint: evidence from top 10 emitter countries

This study investigates the effect of financial development and economic growth on ecological footprint by including non-renewable energy consumption and trade openness as additional determinants. For this purpose, annual data of 10 countries with the highest ecological footprint (China, the USA, India, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Korea, Turkey, and the UK) for the period 1992-2017 is used. The Westerlund and Edgerton (2007) Panel LM bootstrap test results reveal that there is cointegration between the variables. Additionally, the results obtained from the Common Correlated Effects (CCE) coefficient estimator show that financial development, economic growth, and non-renewable energy consumption negatively affect environmental quality by increasing ecological footprint. On other hand, the effect of trade openness on ecological footprint is found to be statistically insignificant. In addition, according to the panel causality test results, a unidirectional causality from financial development to ecological footprint is found while bidirectional causality between economic growth and ecological footprint exists. Therefore, it would be beneficial for policymakers in such countries to direct financial resources to green energy production and consumption and to encourage projects and practices.

How to achieve carbon neutrality while maintaining economic vitality: An exploration from the perspective of technological innovation and trade openness

The significant drop in global carbon emissions in 2020 was credited to the enormous loss of economic activity from the impact of COVID-19. The challenge is now to reduce carbon emissions without causing massive disruption and damage to economic production. To achieve carbon neutrality while maintaining economic vitality, the impact of technological innovation and trade openness must be considered. This paper sets technological innovation and trade openness as core variables and establishes two extended Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, and Technology (STIRPAT) models. The first model focuses on carbon emissions and the second focuses on economic growth. Comparisons were made between the BRICS (i.e., Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and G7 (i.e., Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the USA) countries. The fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) regression analysis was used to explore the impact of technological innovation and trade openness on low-carbon economic development. A Panel Granger Causality Test explores the causal relationship between the core, control and dependent variables. The results illustrate that: (1) technological innovation is the primary factor that inhibits carbon emissions and promotes economic growth in both international organizations, (2) trade openness promotes the growth of carbon emissions in BRICS countries, but restrains G7 growth, confirming the "Pollution Haven Hypothesis", (3) per capita GDP is the largest contributor to carbon emissions growth in both the G7 and BRICS countries, which illustrates that per capita GDP is the largest contributor to carbon emissions. It is proportional to G7 and BRICS carbon emissions. This paper provides several policy recommendations: breaking through basic research, adjusting the science and technology evaluation system, optimizing the export trade structure, and increasing the proportion of renewable energy.

Does governance play any role in energy transition? Novel evidence from BRICS economies

Indubitably, energy transition, which is responsible for enhancing renewables in the energy mix, is considered one of the finest strategies for reducing non-renewable utilization and thus helping economies achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this regard, technological innovation and good governance are not only helpful in stimulating green energy supply but also enhance the efficiency of resources to reach the goals. Along with it, diligent long-term policies are required to inculcate some progression in the achievement of SDGs for climate safety. Thereby, factors such as good governance, technological innovation, trade openness, and economic growth can be addressed in a single framework. To achieve the objective of the study, we employ second-generation panel estimation techniques that are robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity. Specifically, we apply the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model for short- and long-run parameter estimation. The main findings are that governance and technological innovation both positively and significantly influence energy transition in the long run and short run. Economic growth affects energy transition positively, but trade openness affects energy transition negatively, while CO2 emissions have no significant impact on energy transition. Robustness checks, the common correlated effect mean group (CCEMG), and the augmented mean group (AMG) all validated these findings. Based on the findings, government officials are recommended to strengthen institutions, control corruption, and improve the quality of regulations in order to enhance the contributions of institutions to the transition to renewable energy.

The symmetric and asymmetric impacts of green energy, eco-innovation, and urbanization in explaining low-carbon economy for Pakistan

Over the past three decades, global economic development patterns have considerably affected the natural environment, and economies have endured a plethora of environmental concerns as a result of the negative effects of climate change. Among them, Pakistan is the fifth most vulnerable country, and climate change has harmfully affected the ecological and socio-economic conditions of the country. In this regard, this study aimed to investigate the role of green energy consumption, eco-innovation, and urbanization while explaining the dream of low-carbon economy and environmental sustainability in the context of Pakistan using annual time series dataset spanning from 1990 to 2020. The short-run and long-run associations among explained and explanatory variables were investigated using the symmetric, asymmetric, and quantile autoregressive distributed lag models. The findings of the study demonstrated that low-carbon economy, green energy consumption, ecological innovation, urbanization, GDP per capita, and labor force are cointegrated for the long-term association in symmetric, asymmetric, and quantile autoregressive distributed lag models. Furthermore, green energy consumption and effective eco-innovation are the most important paths to ensure environmental sustainability, while urbanization, GDP per capita, and labor force contribute negatively to the low-carbon economy. The findings of the study provide a policy framework for the development of a comprehensive strategy to promote environmental sustainability in Pakistan by emphasizing green energy consumption, ecological innovation, and controlled urbanization, as well as the incorporation of environment friendly policies into economic development policies.

Exploring the role of economic and institutional indicators for carbon and GHG emissions: policy-based analysis for OECD countries

Most of the developed countries across the globe have targeted to attain sustainable economic growth. With this focus, the current study evaluated 29 OECD countries over the time period of 1990 to 2018 to analyze the influence of economic and environmental indicators, i.e., export diversification, institutional quality, macrocosmic variables on carbon dioxide, and greenhouse gas emissions. The current study used the quantile regression and generalized method of moments approach on the selected panel. Our comprehensive econometric approach allows us to reveal that export diversification negatively affects carbon emissions but promotes greenhouse gas emissions. Similarly, institutional quality, economic growth, financial development, and economic growth helps to reduce carbon emissions but increase greenhouse emissions. In comparison, trade openness exhibits a positive influence on carbon emissions but a negative on greenhouse gas emissions. Besides, urbanization is found one of the major reasons for environmental degradation. In light of empirical fact findings, this study commends some innovative policy insights for scholars, governors, and policymakers.

The asymmetric impact of financial development on ecological footprint in Pakistan

The current research aims to investigate the impact of financial development on the ecological footprint in Pakistan from 1980 to 2018 by controlling economic growth, the square of economic growth, and energy consumption. The structural break unit root test results show that all variables are stationary at first difference. The bound F-test for cointegration affirmed the indications of a long run connection between the parameters in the discussion. Moreover, we use the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag model to check the non-linear links in establishing the associations between financial development and ecological footprint. The outcomes suggest an asymmetric connection between financial development and ecological footprint because positive and negative shocks in financial development have different effects on ecological footprint. The findings reveal that the impact of the positive shock on financial development is negative but insignificant. Besides, the impact of the negative shock on financial development is positive and statistically significant. It implies that a 1% increase in the negative shock of financial development causes a 0.0877% rise in ecological footprint. The coefficient of economic growth is significant at a 1% level of significance. In the long run, a 0.4471% increase in ecological footprint is associated with a 1% increase in economic growth. However, the coefficient of the square of economic growth is negative but insignificant. Thus, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is not valid in Pakistan. Likewise, energy consumption positively affects the ecological footprint. The results of short run estimates correspond to the long run estimates. As a policy suggestion, the current study suggests expanding green financial development in Pakistan by emphasizing more on Sustainable Development Goals.

Testing the long-run impact of economic growth, energy consumption, and globalization on ecological footprint: new evidence from Fourier bootstrap ARDL and Fourier bootstrap Toda-Yamamoto test results

The aim of this study is to investigate the impacts of economic growth, energy consumption, and the economic globalization process on ecological footprints in the top 10 countries that cause the highest carbon dioxide emissions in the world. The analyses were conducted on annual observations from 1970 to 2017 (a different range for each country) employing the Fourier bootstrap ARDL cointegration method developed by Yilanci et al. (2020) and the Fourier bootstrap Toda-Yamamoto causality method developed by Nazlioglu et al. (2016). In the cointegration approach, an additional F-test provides better insights to define degenerate cases and the bootstrap test performance is powerful than the asymptotic test. In this context, Fourier bootstrap ARDL test results revealed that there is a long-term relationship between ecological footprint and economic growth, energy consumption, and economic globalization in seven countries-namely, Canada, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. According to long-run coefficients, in general, economic growth and energy consumption have negative effects on ecological footprint, whereas economic globalization has a positive effect on the ecological footprint for these countries. To evaluate it more specifically, (i) real gross domestic product per capita has positive and statistically significant coefficients on the ecological footprint in China, India, Indonesia, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, except for Germany. (ii) Energy consumption per capita also has positive and statistically significant coefficients on the ecological footprint in China, Germany, Iran, and Saudi Arabia, except for Indonesia. (iii) Finally, the economic globalization process has negative and statistically significant coefficients on the ecological footprint in Canada, China, India, and Saudi Arabia, except for Indonesia. On the other hand, Fourier bootstrap Toda-Yamamoto causality test results show a mixed character. Governments should take action to reduce the negative effects of the climate crisis as immediate as possible, which has been widely expressed recently. Among these, increasing the use of renewable energy sources and new carbon-free technologies in the production process appears as important policy tools.

The role of renewable energy consumption on environmental degradation in EU countries: do institutional quality, technological innovation, and GDP matter?

In the face of climate change and environmental degradation, reducing emission of greenhouse gases has become a key factor for environmental sustainability. Therefore, the present research is intended to explore the roles of renewable energy consumption, institutional quality, technological innovation, and GDP on carbon dioxide emissions in the 14 EU countries. In doing so, this study employed novel method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) using annual data from 2000 to 2019. Also, a number of other estimators were applied for robustness check including the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), the dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), and the fixed effect ordinary least square (FE-OLS). The empirical findings indicate that renewable energy consumption significantly reduces CO₂ emissions across all quantiles (0.1-0.9). Furthermore, institutional quality and technological innovation improve environmental quality in 0.1-0.7 quantiles, although GDP enhances carbon emissions significantly in all quantiles. In addition, the FMOLS, DOLS, and FE-OLS results confirmed the MMQR results. The outcomes of this study suggest insights for the policymakers to mitigate carbon emissions through promoting innovative technologies for environmental protection and investing more in the development of renewable energy.

Climate change, insurance market, renewable energy, and biodiversity: double-materiality concept from BRICS countries

The threat of biodiversity loss and mass extinction of species with an aftermath will shape all lives now and those to come. In this context, recent empirical studies illustrate various drivers of biodiversity for better environmental quality; however, the impact of the insurance market has not been thoroughly examined. Likewise, the possible non-linearities between biodiversity and its determinants are ignored in the current empirical literature for BRICS economies. Therefore, this work is the first to explore the effect of the insurance market, climate change, and renewable energy on biodiversity in BRICS economies using an advanced method of the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) method. The findings illustrated that a decline in the insurance market alleviates biodiversity loss and stimulates environmental quality. In contrast, an increasing insurance market augments biodiversity loss and negatively affects ecological quality. Furthermore, the findings uncovered that carbon emissions are detrimental to environmental quality. Lastly, the results report that reducing the level of renewable energy worsens biodiversity loss while boosting renewable energy utilization declines biodiversity loss. The policymakers and regulatory authorities in the BRICS should adopt the risk-based approach proposed by the network of greening the financial system (NGFS) to tackle the dilemma of double materiality between financial institutions and biodiversity.

The impact of digital finance on pollutants emission: evidence from chinese cities

This paper investigates whether emerging digital finance can reduce environmental pollution in China based on data from 273 of China's prefecture-level cities spanning the period from 2010 to 2017. The dynamic spatial econometric models (DSDM) find a significant negative association between digital finance and pollutants emissions, and the impacts vary among regions and urban development stages. The impact mechanism test proves that digital finance reduces pollutants emissions through technological innovation, structural adjustment, and capital allocation effects. In addition, we explore the different dimensions of digital finance and find that the depth of use has a more practical effect on reducing emissions. Further analyses based on the threshold model show an inverted N-shaped nexus between digital finance and emissions. The threshold effect also exists in terms of the traditional financial level. Our study proves that emerging digital finance crucially affects its potential benefits to environment and provides an empirical basis for policy-makers to accelerate the digitalization of financial markets, particularly paying attention to its emission-reduction effects.

Asymmetric impact of renewable energy consumption and technological innovation on environmental degradation: designing an SDG framework for developed economy

Many European nations, including Spain, are having difficulties achieving their Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) objectives. Resultantly, the current research discusses the development of an SDG framework for Spain, which can be utilized as a model for other EU nations. This research examines whether GDP growth, technological innovation, and energy sources (renewable and non-renewable) have any effect on CO₂ emissions utilizing data from 1980 to 2018. The study applied the non-linear ARDL (NARDL) to investigate these interrelations. The outcomes from the NARDL revealed that positive (negative) shocks in renewable energy improve environmental quality in Spain. Furthermore, positive (negative) shocks in technological innovation lead to a decrease (increase) in CO₂. Lastly, positive (negative) shocks in energy consumption lead to an increase (decrease) in CO_2. The results reveal that Spain is on the right path towards decarburization. This research has important policy ramifications for the policymakers and government of Spain as well as neighbouring countries.

Does geothermal energy and natural resources affect environmental sustainability? Evidence in the lens of sustainable development

Climate change and global warming have been driven by a rise in carbon dioxide (CO₂) concentrations in recent decades, posing a danger to environmental sustainability. Thus, this research scrutinizes the effects of two types of energy (coal and geothermal) and natural resources on CO₂ emissions in 10 newly industrialized countries (NICs). The study also considers the role of financial globalization using a data between 1990 and 2019. This research applied a fresh nonparametric econometric technique termed "method of moments quantile regression (MMQR)." This approach is resistant to outliers and produces an asymmetric connection between variables. Furthermore, the long-run estimators (AMG and CCEMG) are employed as a robustness check. The findings reveal that natural resources, coal, and economic growth contribute to the degradation of the environment in the NICs in all quantiles (0.1-0.90). However, geothermal energy aids in enhancing environmental sustainability at all quantile distributions (0.1-0.90). Our findings are robust with alternative methods (AMG and CCEMG). The research's outcomes have the potential to help NICs nations design policies. Finally, based on the research results, a policy framework is proposed to solve the objectives of SDGs 7 and 13.

Energy mix with technological innovation to abate carbon emission: fresh evidence from Mexico applying wavelet tools and spectral causality

The global warming issue arises from climate change, which draws scientists' attention toward cleaner energy sources. Among clean sources, renewables and nuclear energy are getting immense attention among policymakers. However, the significance of nuclear energy in reducing CO₂ emissions has remained ambiguous, necessitating further research. Therefore, the present study draws impetuous attention to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals-7 (affordable clean energy) & 13 (climate change mitigation) by looking at the relationship between energy mix (fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear), economic growth, technological innovation, and CO₂ emissions in Mexico from 1980 to 2019 using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. In addition, to assess the direction of causality, this study applied wavelet techniques and spectral causality. The findings affirm that renewable and nuclear energy use and technological innovation tend to curb CO₂ emissions, whereas fossil fuel consumption and economic expansion trigger CO₂ emissions. The study lends support to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) phenomenon in Mexico. The FMOLS and DOLS tests show that our long-run estimates are reliable. In different time scales, the wavelet coherence result is also consistent. Finally, the results of the spectral causality approach demonstrate a significant causal association between the variables tested at various frequencies. As a result, in order to achieve SDGs 7 and 13 and support an environmentally friendly ecosystem, Mexico's energy mix must be changed to renewables and nuclear.

Do green bonds offer a diversification opportunity during COVID-19?-an empirical evidence from energy, crypto, and carbon markets

The present study is a novel attempt to unravel the connectedness of the green bond with energy, crypto, and carbon markets using the S&P green bond index (RSPGB). We consider MAC global solar energy index (RMGS) and ISE global wind energy index (RIGW) as proxies of the energy market and use bitcoin and the European energy exchange carbon index (REEX) for the cryptocurrency and carbon market. Employing the Diebold and Yilmaz (2012), Baruník and Krehlík (2018), and wavelet coherence econometric techniques, we find that the energy market (RMGS) has the highest connectedness derived from other asset classes, and bitcoin (RBTC) has the least connectedness. Concurrently, we find that the risk transmission is heterogeneous in different scales as the short period has less connectedness than the medium and long run. We conclude that the overall diversification opportunity among green bonds, energy stock, bitcoin, and the carbon market is more in the short-run than in the medium and long-run. In summary, our findings on the green bond market will provide investors, portfolio managers, and policymakers with critical insight into ensuring a sustainable financial market.

Environmental degradation, renewable energy, and economic growth nexus: Assessing the role of financial and political risks?

Sustainable development goal (SDG), which focuses on affordable and sustainable energy, provides a practical solution to realize sustainable growth. In addition, this target can encourage the realization of SDG 13 (climate action). However, factors like political and financial risk can impact climate actions and renewable energy. Therefore, this research extends the debate on the ecological footprint (EF) mitigation and achievement of SDGs by evaluating the renewable energy, political risk, financial risk, and EF nexus in an Environment Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework from 1986 to 2018. Panel data for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is estimated using second-generation approaches. The CuP-FM test results indicated that the EKC is present in ASEAN in the context of renewable energy, financial risk, and political risk. Furthermore, the findings revealed that controlling political and financial risks is a useful mitigation strategy because EF decreases as these risks are reduced. Notably, a decrease in EF has been linked to the use of renewable energy. These results are verified by using CO2 emissions as an alternative proxy for environmental degradation. Moreover, both financial and political risk Granger cause renewable energy and economic growth indicating that controlling financial and political risk is necessary for sustainable development.

The impact of financial development on ecological footprints of nations

Financial development is an important driver of technological progress in economic development. Its role in environmental change has not been well examined. We endeavor to examine the non-linear effects of multi-dimensional financial development measures on four kinds of ecological footprints in a global sample of 124 economies. We apply a two-step system generalized method of moments to deal with possible endogeneity. We find a stark difference in the impact of financial institutions' development and financial markets' development on the ecological footprints. Whereas financial institutions, with their three dimensions (i.e., depth, access, and efficiency) have an inverted-U shaped relationship with the ecological footprints, allowing for the initially harmful effect on the environment to revert to beneficial effects, the same results are not observed for financial markets. We attribute the inverse-U shaped relationship to a declining scale effect of FD and rising technological and composition effects of FD that transform the economy. Based on that we recommend that best practices of financial institutions regarding making environmentally conscious investment decisions be turned into a conscious investing culture around the world. For this to become a reality, better information-sharing regarding the individual environmental performance of firms will be needed.

An analysis of the environmental impacts of ethnic diversity, financial development, economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption: fresh evidence from less-developed countries

Improving the quality of environmental indicators has become a global concern that necessitates the identification of possible channels through which environmental welfare can be enhanced worldwide. Against this backdrop, this current study aims to elucidate the environmental effects of ethnic diversity, controlling for financial development, urbanization, economic growth, and energy consumption in the context of 51 less-developed countries during the period from 1996 to 2016. For measuring the environmental impacts, we use both the ecological footprint and carbon dioxide emission figures of these countries. Overall, the cointegration analysis confirms the existence of long-run relationships among the study variables. Besides, the regression analysis reveals that ethnic diversity deteriorates environmental quality by surging the ecological footprint and carbon dioxide emission levels of the selected nations. Similarly, financial development and energy consumption are found to impose identical adversities on the environment while urbanization is evidenced to ensure environmental welfare. Lastly, for both the environmental indicators considered in this study, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is verified from the findings. Hence, considering these key outcomes, a set of relevant environmental welfare-related policy interventions are recommended in the context of less-developed countries.

Energy productivity and environmental deregulation: the case of Greece

Among the EU countries, Greece relies heavily on coal the most, and it has lagged behind in cutting emissions. Further, following the oil crisis of the 1970s, Greece has strategically invested in lignite. Solid fossil fuels such as lignite are classified as fossil fuels that are detrimental to environmental performance. This continued burning of fossil fuels has emerged as one of the most serious concerns in Greece, even globally. The aim is to capture the effect of energy productivity on carbon dioxide emissions (CO₂E) in Greece while controlling trade openness, energy consumption, and economic growth. Toward this end, we employ a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model and other econometric robust techniques. The findings of the study are as follows: (i) trade openness positively impacts carbon emissions growth; (ii) economic growth adds to increased CO₂E; (iii) expanding energy productivity is beneficial to the environment as it causes CO₂E to decline; and (iv) increase in energy consumptions further results in CO₂ cutbacks. The recommendation of our study suggests some innovative policies to counter the detrimental effects of carbon emissions by an increase in energy efficiency for the Greek economy. The study recommends that embracing a low-carbon, resource-efficient, and circular economy is of paramount importance to Greece in order to ensure environmental protection, as well as to boost green growth, create new jobs, and combat unemployment. Greece should ensure that energy efficiency techniques are promoted, and renewable energy sources are expanded in order to increase the options for cleaner alternatives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thus preserving the environment.

The dynamic nexus between air transport, technological innovation, FDI, and economic growth: evidence from BRICS-MT countries

This study examines the endogenous growth theory for technological innovation and economic growth with the role of foreign direct investment (FDI) and air transport freight in seven emerging BRICS-MT economies. In the existing literature, there is no significant empirical evidence on the dynamic relationship among technological innovation, air transport freight, FDI, and economic growth in BRICS-MT countries. Thus, the current study contributes to the growing literature regarding the role of technological Innovation, air transport, and FDI on economic growth. To this end, we explore the dynamic nexus between technological innovation, air transport, FDI, and economic growth in 7 selected emerging BRICS-MT countries, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, and Turkey. This study covers the most recent updated period for panel data from 2000 to 2019. We applied panel cointegration, dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), and Granger causality tests to draw empirical inferences. The Pedroni panel and Kao residual cointegration tests confirm the long-run relationships among the variables. The DOLS results indicate that air transport freight, technological innovation, and FDI significantly positively impact economic growth. This study's findings confirmed the endogenous growth model in BRICS-MT countries. Furthermore, the Granger causality test results show the feedback effect of FDI on economic growth. The outcomes of this study also show the unidirectional causal relationship between air transport freight and economic growth. Moreover, the results provide support to economic policymakers in their decision-making. These results fill the gaps that assist policymakers of BRICS-MT countries in removing barriers to air transport freight, technological innovation, and foreign direct investment, thereby achieving sustainable economic development.

Economic growth, technology, and CO2 emissions in BRICS: Investigating the non-linear impacts of economic complexity

Upgrading economic structures and producing less pollution-intensive goods are indispensable for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) that produce 41% of global CO₂ emissions. Economic complexity (ECC), which measures the sophistication of productivity and economic structure, has important environmental repercussions. Theoretically, the environmental impacts of economic complexity at higher levels and lower levels of complexity vary from each other. However, the majority of previous studies have overlooked these theoretical underpinnings while assessing the environmental repercussions of economic complexity. In addition, technological competencies are necessary to boost the economic complexity levels. Accordingly, this study uncovers the non-linear effects of economic complexity on CO₂ emissions including technology, population density, and economic growth in a STIRPAT model. To this end, the panel data from 1992 to 2018 is analyzed using the Continuously Updated Fully Modified method (CuP-FM) in the context of BRICS. The long-run results uncovered that CO₂ emissions intensify at a lower level of economic complexity. On the flip side, a higher level of economic complexity is beneficial in mitigating CO₂ in BRICS. Hence, the economic complexity and CO₂ connections follow an inverted U-shaped curve. The results also disclosed that expanding the level of technology lessens CO₂ and stimulates the quality of the environment. Further, population density and economic growth are evidenced to intensify CO₂. Moreover, economic complexity and technology Granger cause CO₂. Lastly, strategies are directed in the context of Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 13 to control CO₂ emissions by upgrading technology and products complexity.

Investigation of the driving factors of ecological footprint in Malaysia

Malaysia's growing trends in energy production-elated emissions throw doubt on the country's possibility of meeting the Paris Climate Change Agreement and SDG obligations. Taking into account Malaysia's current growth pattern and climatic circumstances, this study evaluates the association between ecological footprint and its potential determinants: economic growth, oil consumption, renewable energy and domestic capital investment for the period between 1965 and 2017. The stationary nature of the parameters is investigated using the conventional unit root approach (ADF and PP unit root) and structural break unit root (ZA unit root). The bounds approach in combination with the critical approximation p-values of Kripfganz and Schneider (2018) established a cointegration association between the observed parameters. The ARDL approach uncovered that economic growth and oil consumption contribute to ecological footprint. Furthermore, renewable energy consumption and gross capital formation reduce the ecological footprint. The FMOLS and DOLS estimators were applied as the sensitivity analysis of the ARDL estimators. Furthermore, the spectral BC causality approach was also utilized to investigate the causal association betweefataln ecological footprint and its determinants.

Impacts of globalization and energy consumption on environmental degradation: what is the way forward to achieving environmental sustainability targets in Nigeria?

One of the major problems the world is currently facing is climate change. This is due to the use of fossil fuel combustion, which increases the presence of CO₂ emissions and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in several countries of the world, which Nigeria is not exempted from. Against this background, this study examines the impacts of globalization, real income, urbanization, and energy consumption on environmental degradation; and proffer way forward to achieving environmental sustainability targets in Nigeria, using quarterly frequency time series data over a period 1971-2018. To achieve our study objectives, this study makes use of quantile-quantile (Q-Q) approach, developed by Sim and Zhou J Bank Financ 55:1-8, (2015). This approach groups together nonparametric estimation and quantile regression. Empirical results show that, in all quantiles, globalization, real income, urbanization, and energy consumption impact positively on environmental degradation. Thus, we are of the opinion that for the nation to achieve any meaningful environmental sustainability targets, (i) it must shift from economic activities that are dependent and driven by non-renewable energy sources; (ii) enact environmental laws and regulations that prevent indigenous and multinationals firms from using non-renewable energy sources in production activities; (iii) discourage rural-urban migration by enacting policies that would improve life in the rural areas, such as diverting investment of indigenous and multinational companies to be situated in the rural areas; and lastly, (iv) learn from jurisdictional experiences that have successfully replaces non-renewable energy sources with renewable ones for an overall economic growth and environmental sustainability targets for both the immediate and future generations.

Toward a sustainable environment and economic growth in BRICS economies: do innovation and globalization matter?

Over the last few decades, environmental deterioration has accelerated significantly. Environmental degradation has been a subject of research across the world because of its impact on billions of people. However, there has been no international agreement on lowering the utilization of energy and CO₂ emissions (CO₂), while demand for fossil fuels grows in emerging economies. On the other hand, the recent COP26 summit brought all parties together to accelerate action toward reaching the goals of the Paris Agreement and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Although previous research shows that international trade promotes positive socioeconomic outcomes, other experts argue that it contributes to natural resource shortages and ecological deterioration. Thus, the current research considers the effect of international trade, renewable energy use and technological innovation on consumption-based carbon emissions (CCO₂), coupled with the role of financial development and economic growth in the BRICS economies between 1990 and 2018. Moreover, this research utilizes the common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG), augmented mean group (AMG) and Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) causality methods to assess these interrelationships. The study findings reveal that renewable energy use, exports and technological innovation mitigate CCO₂, whereas economic growth and imports trigger CCO₂ in the BRICS economies. The panel causality outcomes also reveal that all the variables except financial development can predict CCO₂ emissions. Based on the study findings, we recommend the adoption of policies, regulations and the development of legislative frameworks that promote technological innovation and the shift toward sustainable energy.

Can collaborative innovation constrain ecological footprint? Empirical evidence from Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

Collaborative innovation can promote scientific productivity and the development of clean technology and thus has a great potential in constraining the ecological footprint. However, current studies on the impact of collaborative innovation on ecological footprint are insufficient, and results remain controversial. To better understand these impacts, this paper took Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area of China as a case, estimated the ecological footprint at the municipal level from 2008 to 2018, measured collaborative innovation both from four dimensions and from a composite approach, then applied threshold regression models to compare the impact of collaborative innovation on the ecological footprint across different economic intervals. The findings showed that: the ecological footprint of the Greater Bay Area displayed an overall upward trend with prominent spatial heterogeneity. The impact of collaborative innovation on the ecological footprint presented a double-threshold effect when examined with different indicators. Among which, the flow of scientific personnel and capital boosted the ecological footprint, which intensified with economic development, while collaboration in technology exerted significant inhibitory effects on ecological footprint, and the influence of inter-city knowledge collaboration was limited. Overall, collaborative innovation inhibited ecological footprint when measured by a composite index. This might inspire policymakers to adopt sustainable strategies depending on the type of collaborative innovation and the economic status of the city to constrain growth of the ecological footprint, thus minimizing the pressures of human activities on the environment and moving towards a more carbon neutral society.

Cleaner Technology and Natural Resource Management: An Environmental Sustainability Perspective from China

In economies, cleaner technology, increased demand for renewable energy, and more efficient use of natural resources contribute to meeting environmental sustainability targets. The Chinese economy is no exception in its attempts to conserve economic and natural resources via collaborative efforts to embrace cleaner technology, green energy sources, and resource conservation management to preserve resources for future generations. This research examines the influence of cleaner technologies, green energy sources, and natural resource management on reducing greenhouse gas emissions using quarterly data for the Chinese economy from 2000Q1 to 2020Q4. The findings demonstrate that increasing demand for green energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions, hence substantiating the premise of ‘green is clean’ energy development. Additionally, optimum resource usage enhances environmental quality, corroborating the ‘resource cleaner blessing’ hypothesis. The positive link between inward foreign direct investment and greenhouse gas emissions substantiates the ‘pollution haven’ concept, according to which inward foreign direct investment uses unsustainable technology in manufacturing processes, hence degrading air quality indicators. Inadequate access to clean cooking technology and increased population density has a detrimental effect on the country’s environmental sustainability agenda, which must be corrected via sustainable regulations. The causality estimates show the feedback relationship between renewable energy demand (and economic growth) and cleaner technology, between economic growth and green energy (and inbound foreign direct investment), and between population density and economic growth (and green energy). The Impulse Response function estimates suggested that economic growth and population density would likely increase GHG emissions. In contrast, cleaner technology, green energy demand, natural resource management, and inbound foreign direct investment would likely decrease greenhouse gas emissions for the next ten-year time period. The sustainability of the environment and natural resources in China is bolstered by developing cleaner technologies, a greater reliance on renewable energy sources, and better management of natural resources.

Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Consumption and Trade Policy: Do They Matter for Environmental Sustainability?

In the extant literature, there are numerous discussions on China’s environmental sustainability. However, few scholars have considered renewable energy consumption and trade policy simultaneously to debate environmental sustainability. Therefore, this paper attempts to examine how renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, bio-capacity, economic growth, and trade policy dynamically affect the ecological footprint (a proxy for environmental sustainability). Using the data from 1971 to 2017 and employing the auto-regressive distributed lag model to perform an empirical analysis, the results demonstrate that renewable energy consumption and trade policy are conducive to environmental sustainability because of their negative impacts on the ecological footprint. However, the results also indicate that bio-capacity, non-renewable energy consumption, and economic growth are putting increasing pressure on environmental sustainability due to their positive impacts on the ecological footprint. Moreover, to determine the direction of causality between the highlighted variables, the Yoda-Yamamoto causality test was conducted. The results suggest a two-way causal relationship between renewable energy consumption and ecological footprint, non-renewable energy consumption and ecological footprint, and economic growth and ecological footprint. Conversely, the results also suggest a one-way causal relationship running from bio-capacity and trade policy to the ecological footprint.

The interrelationships among financial development, economic growth and environmental sustainability: evidence from Ghana

A well established and developed financial system encourages savings and investment which stimulates economic growth. However, the link between financial development and the environment is ambiguous. In general, the role that the environment plays in the finance-growth nexus has received less attention, to the best of our knowledge. Against this backdrop, this study aims to examine the interrelationships among economic growth, financial development and carbon dioxide emissions for Ghana over the period of 1971-2018. To correct for a possible endogeneity problem, the three-stage least-square (3SLS) technique was employed. The results revealed that there is a bidirectional relationship between financial development and economic growth; and a unidirectional relationship from financial development to carbon dioxide emission. However, carbon dioxide emission has a neutral effect on economic growth and financial development. Economic growth exhibits an inverted U-shaped relationship with carbon dioxide emission, confirming the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Ghana. Policymakers should consider the critical roles of financial development in achieving environmentally friendly growth in Ghana.

Addressing the water-energy nexus: a focus on the barriers and potentials of harnessing wastewater treatment processes for biogas production in Sub Saharan Africa

Several anthropogenic activities reduce the supply of freshwater to living organisms in all ecological systems, particularly the human population. Organic matter in derived wastewater can be converted into potential energy, such as biogas (methane), through microbial transformation during anaerobic digestion (AD). To address the current lack of data and values for wastewater generation in Sub-Saharan Africa, this review analyzes and estimates (at 50% and 90% conversion rates) the potential amount of wastewater-related sludge that can be generated from domestic freshwater withdrawals using the most recent update in 2017 from the World Bank repository and database on freshwater status in Sub-Saharan Africa. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could potentially produce the highest estimate of biogas in Sub-Saharan Africa from domestic wastewater sludge of approximately 90 billion m³, which could be converted to 178 million MWh of electricity annually, based on this extrapolation at 50% conversion rates. Using same conversion rates estimates, at least nine other countries, including Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Gabon, and Congo Republic, could potentially produce biogas in the range of 1–20 billion m³. These estimates show how much energy could be extracted from wastewater treatment plants in Sub-Saharan Africa. AD process to produce biogas and energy harvesting are essential supplementary operations for Sub-Saharan African wastewater treatment plants. This approach could potentially solve the problem of data scarcity because these values for Freshwater withdrawals are readily available in the database could be used for estimation and projections towards infrastructure development and energy production planning. The review also highlights the possibilities for energy generation from wastewater treatment facilities towards wastewater management, clean energy, water, and sanitation sustainability, demonstrating the interconnections and actualization of the various related UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Modelling the effects of energy diversification on ecological footprint: evidence from Côte d'Ivoire

Energy diversification is a vital contribution to sustainable development. Many countries are accelerating the diversification of their energy mix to meet the challenges of the energy transition. This study aims to model and investigate the effects of energy diversification on the ecological footprint of production in Côte d'Ivoire. The study uses an autoregressive distributed lag model with structural breaks and covers the period 1971-2015. Energy diversification is measured by an "Energy Mix Concentration Index," a concentration indicator based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index. The results suggest that, in the short term, energy diversification reduces the ecological footprint of production in Côte d'Ivoire, and is conducive for environmental protection. In the long term, energy diversification also has a reducing effect on the ecological footprint of production up to a certain threshold where energy concentration increases the ecological footprint. The study finds that there is an optimal level of energy diversification that is ideal for achieving a lower impact of energy diversification activities and exploitation of energy production sources on the environment in Côte d'Ivoire. The commissioning of the Azito power plant in 1999, which produces electricity using natural gas, has also had a major impact, not only on the country's energy mix since then, but also on its ecological footprint of production.

Exploring the linkage between export diversification and ecological footprint: evidence from advanced time series estimation techniques

In recent literature, scholars discussed the role of export diversification in environmental quality. However, most studies analyzed the role of export diversification in influencing carbon dioxide emissions with mixed results. However, since carbon dioxide emissions specifically capture the environmental effects of energy utilization, a change in the level of carbon dioxide emissions cannot be regarded as a comprehensive measure of environmental deterioration. Also, many previous studies use the original form of the Theil index to measure export diversification, and during the interpretation of the results, they disregard the fact that the lower value of the Theil index indicates higher diversification and vice versa. In this context, to address these gaps in the literature, a study on the contribution of export diversification in ecological footprint is necessary to understand the ecological impacts of export diversification. Therefore, this study analyzes the contribution of export diversification in ecological footprint covering the period between 1965 and 2017 using the STIRPAT model in the context of India which is required to fulfill the demands for resources of over 1.3 billion people. The study relied on the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis framework to understand the role of export diversification in ensuring environmental sustainability. Using the newly developed Augmented ARDL test, the study established that variables of interest are cointegrated. In the long-run estimation, export diversification reduces the ecological footprint of India and helps establish the inverted-U-shaped nexus between ecological footprint and economic growth. Thus, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis was evidenced to hold for India. This important finding divulges that India can control the level of environmental footprints, and therefore decrease environmental degradation by continuously increasing export product diversification. Also, India is on the right path to achieve a reduction in ecological footprint associated with more development when accounting for export diversification in the model. Moreover, energy intensity boosts environmental deterioration, while population density reduces it. Finally, the study discusses strategies to achieve environmental sustainability through increasing export diversification.

Asymmetric nexus between technological innovation and environmental degradation in Sweden: an aggregated and disaggregated analysis

The number of studies on the relationship between technological innovation and CO₂ emissions has gradually increased in recent years, although there is no clear agreement in the literature. Previous research has revealed both positive and negative consequences of technological innovation on the environment. Moreover, most researchers have used linear approaches to explore this connection, which can result in spurious outcomes when nonlinearities exist in the data. According to this background, this research utilizes asymmetric ARDL and spectral causality approaches to assess the asymmetric connection between technological innovation and CO₂ emissions in Sweden utilizing data from 1980 to 2018. In addition, the disaggregated asymmetric effects of technological innovation (patent resident and patent nonresident) on CO₂ are also captured in this study. The Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed lag (NARDL) results showed that positive (negative) shocks in economic growth enhance environmental quality in Sweden. Furthermore, a positive (negative) shock in technological innovation causes a decrease (increase) in CO₂. Similarly, a positive (negative) shock in patent nonresident and residents leads to a decrease (increase) in CO₂ emissions in Sweden. The outcomes from the spectral causality revealed that in the medium and long term, aggregate and disaggregate technological innovation can predict CO₂ emissions in Sweden. This study has significant policy implications for policymakers and the government in Sweden. Based on these findings, the study suggests that the government of Sweden should investment in technological innovation since it plays a vital role in curbing environmental degradation.

The role of economic complexity in the environmental Kuznets curve of MINT economies: evidence from method of moments quantile regression

In the face of mounting climate change challenges, reducing emissions has emerged as a key driver of environmental sustainability and sustainable growth. Despite the fact that research has been conducted on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), few researchers have analyzed this in the light of economic complexity. Thus, the current research assesses the effect of economic complexity on CO2 emissions in the MINT nations while taking into account the role of financial development, economic growth, and energy consumption for the period between 1990 and 2018. Using the novel method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) with fixed effects, an inverted U-shape interrelationship is found between economic growth and CO2 emissions, thus validating the EKC hypothesis. Energy consumption and economic complexity increase CO2 emissions significantly from the 1st to 9th quantiles. Furthermore, there is no significant interconnection between financial development and CO2 emissions across all quantiles (1st to 9th). The outcomes of the causality test reveal a feedback causal connection between economic growth and CO2, while a unidirectional causality is established from economic complexity and energy use to CO2 emissions in the MINT nations. Based on the findings, we believe that governments should stimulate the financial sector to provide domestic credit facilities to industrialists, investors, and other business enterprises on more favorable terms so that innovative technologies for environmental protection can be implemented with other policy recommendations.

Effects of economic complexity, economic growth, and renewable energy technology budgets on ecological footprint: the role of democratic accountability

The economic structure of countries can influence economic growth, energy demand, and environmental footprints. However, the literature on economic complexity and ecological footprint (EFP) nexus is scarce. Besides, democracy is an important factor that may affect environmental policies and environmental sustainability. Hence, this paper investigates the effect of democracy, economic complexity, and renewable energy technology budgets on the EFP in G7 countries controlling income and financial development from 1985 to 2017. The findings from Westerlund (J Appl Econ 23:193-233, 2008) and other cointegration methods depict cointegration among variables. The long-run estimates from the continuously updated fully modified method unfold that economic complexity contributes to reducing the EFP. However, greater democratic accountability boosts the EFP figures rather than reducing them. On the flipside, renewable energy technology budgets and financial development are evidenced to mitigate EFP. Moreover, the study unveils a U-shaped linkage between economic growth and EFP, which indicates that an increase in income level will boost EFP. Further, the study found causality from economic complexity, democracy, and renewable energy budgets to EFP. Based on these findings, it is pertinent for the G7 countries to increase the manufacturing of sophisticated and complex products. In addition, enhancing renewable energy technology budgets is essential to ensure environmental well-being.

Wavelet analysis of impact of renewable energy consumption and technological innovation on CO2 emissions: evidence from Portugal

This paper uncover a new perception of the dynamic interconnection between CO₂ emission and economic growth, renewable energy use, trade openness, and technological innovation in the Portuguese economy utilizing innovative Morlet wavelet analysis. The research applied continuous wavelet transform, wavelet correlation, the multiple and partial wavelet coherence, and frequency domain causality analyses are applied on variables of investigation using dataset between 1980 and 2019. The result of these analyses disclosed that the interconnection among the indicators progresses over time and frequency. The present analysis finds notable wavelet coherence and significant lead and lag interconnections in the frequency domain, while conflicting relationships among the variables are found in the time domain. The wavelet analysis according to economic viewpoint affirms that renewable energy consumption helps to curb CO₂ while trade openness, technological innovation, and economic growth contribute to CO₂. The outcomes also proposed that renewable energy consumption decreases CO₂ in medium and long run in Portugal. Therefore, policymakers in Portugal should stimulate investment in renewable energy sources, establish restrictive laws, and enhance energy innovation.