Dynamics among economic growth, urbanization, and environmental sustainability in IEA countries: the role of industry value-added

Ecosystem benefits of urban woody plants for sustainable green space planning: a case study from Wroclaw

City residents benefit daily of urban green spaces, often unaware of their true value. We transformed biometric indicators of woody plants into ecosystem equivalents for evaluating ecosystem services (ES) by the I-tree eco tool estimate of boulevards with a different ratio of bushes, trees, and urban canopy cover (UCC). The results showed that the studied green spaces annually retain 111.24 metric tonnes of carbon in their biomass, estimated at 17,846 thousand €, and are capable of producing 1928 thousand € by different ES. It includes 4.01 metric tonnes/year of gross carbon sequestration worth €636.15, 76.01 m3/year of avoided runoff worth €139.28, and 60.95 metric tonnes/year of pollution removal (ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and particulate matter) worth €1152.16. For objects where shrubs are the primary producers of ES, it is important to model crown development along the horizontal axis. Quantitative and qualitative assessment of different types of woody plants of different ages allows for effective selection of urban plants to create a well-being environment for citizens. The practical value of the results can improve the spatial planning of urban green infrastructure by considering the ES indices of trees and shrubs and expanding opportunities to inform the public about their value.

Do the climate-related financial policies promote green innovation? Insights from global sample

This paper is an attempt to empirically examine the influences of climate-related financial policies (CRFP) on green innovation (GI). By applying diverse econometric techniques, namely a panel-corrected standard error model (PCSE), feasible generalized least square (FGLS), and two-step general method of moment (the two-step GMMs), to a global sample of 23 European countries in the period from 2012 to 2019, the estimation results demonstrate that the CRFP has a favorable impact and is statistically significant on all four aspects of green innovation implementation. We find robust results by utilizing various econometric techniques and adding more explanatory variables. To shed light on the relationship between CRFP and GI, we demonstrate the short-run and long-run effects of CRFP on GI. The results suggest that climate-related financial policies only significantly negatively affect investments in environmental activities in the short run. Notably, our findings imply that climate-related financial policies are more likely to have long-term impacts than short-term ones. Our findings are critical to suggest policy implications to employ climate policies more effectively to promote the use of green innovation.

Integration of renewable energy and socioeconomic development for environmental sustainability in Africa: An empirical analysis

As Africa grapples with the challenges of energy access, economic growth, urbanization and industrialization, as well as the environmental degradation, the adoption of renewable energy technologies emerges as a promising solution. Therefore, this article examines the effects of socioeconomic growth and renewable energy integration on environmental sustainability in 32 African countries using the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model, nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) model, and Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality. The findings demonstrate that urbanization, industrialization, and economic growth all contribute to environmental deterioration. The ARDL model estimation shows that for every 1% increase in economic growth, industrialization, and urbanization, there will be a 1% rise in CO2, respectively. Similarly, the results indicate that an additional 1% in economic growth and industrialization is expected to result in a 0.14% and 0.02% increase in ecological footprint, respectively. The NARDL model shows that industrialization significantly contribute into the CO2 increase, while renewable energy consumption decreases ecological footprint. Moreover, the causality test revealed the bidirectional causality between industrialization and CO2, and urbanization and ecological footprint. Renewable energy consumption in both models showed the potential to enhance environmental quality, underscoring the significance of integrating renewable energy with socioeconomic development to support sustainable development.

The impact of financial decentralization and investments in green power on the ecology in the European union: How does the governance of institutions moderate this relationship?

There has been a growing emphasis in recent scholarship on the environmentalist movement, necessitating robust data to substantiate claims regarding the impacts of financial decentralization and investments in green power on the ecology. This study investigates the multifaceted impact of these factors within a subset of EU member states from 2000 to 2020, with a particular focus on their implications for environmental sustainability. Employing an advanced-panel method, the investigation utilizes enhanced self-regressive distribution delays (CS-ARDL) to analyze the cumulative and immediate connections between financial decentralization, green power investments, and environmental outcomes. The study reveals that effective governance of institutions plays a crucial role in moderating this relationship, influencing the extent to which financial decentralization and green energy investments contribute to environmental preservation. Preliminary findings indicate that regions with decentralized financial systems and substantial investments in green power exhibit reduced carbon dioxide emissions and improved environmental quality. This positive impact is further amplified by sound institutional oversight, ensuring that investments in clean energy align with ecological sustainability goals.The study also underscores the importance of a coordinated approach, where financial decentralization, investments in green power, and institutional governance synergistically contribute to environmental resilience and sustainable development. These efforts not only mitigate environmental challenges but also stimulate economic growth, job creation, and technological innovation in the renewable energy sector. The impact of financial decentralization and investments in green power on environmental sustainability in the European Union is significant, with governance playing a pivotal role in shaping positive outcomes. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and stakeholders seeking to promote a greener and more sustainable future within the EU.

Metal oxide-based photocatalysts for the efficient degradation of organic pollutants for a sustainable environment: a review

Photocatalytic degradation is a highly efficient technique for eliminating organic pollutants such as antibiotics, organic dyes, toluene, nitrobenzene, cyclohexane, and refinery oil from the environment. The effects of operating conditions, concentrations of contaminants and catalysts, and their impact on the rate of deterioration are the key focuses of this review. This method utilizes light-activated semiconductor catalysts to generate reactive oxygen species that break down contaminants. Modified photocatalysts, such as metal oxides, doped metal oxides, and composite materials, enhance the effectiveness of photocatalytic degradation by improving light absorption and charge separation. Furthermore, operational conditions such as pH, temperature, and light intensity also play a crucial role in enhancing the degradation process. The results indicated that both high pollutant and catalyst concentrations improve the degradation rate up to a threshold, beyond which no significant benefits are observed. The optimal operational conditions were found to significantly enhance photocatalytic efficiency, with a marked increase in degradation rates under ideal settings. Antibiotics and organic dyes generally follow intricate degradation pathways, resulting in the breakdown of these substances into smaller, less detrimental compounds. On the other hand, hydrocarbons such as toluene and cyclohexane, along with nitrobenzene, may necessitate many stages to achieve complete mineralization. Several factors that affect the efficiency of degradation are the characteristics of the photocatalyst, pollutant concentration, light intensity, and the existence of co-catalysts. This approach offers a sustainable alternative for minimizing the amount of organic pollutants present in the environment, contributing to cleaner air and water. Photocatalytic degradation hence holds tremendous potential for remediation of the environment.

Does circularity mean environmental sustainability? Novel evidence from European countries

The objective of this research is to evaluate the effects of green economy initiatives (GEI) on environmental sustainability (ES) through empirical means. The degree of green economy efforts is measured using six different metrics: the percentage of circular material consumption (GEI_MA), municipal trash generation per person (GEI_MW), recycling waste performance (GEI_RW), and recycling and secondary raw materials-related patents (GEI_PA). The latter particularly comprises the biowaste (GEI_RB) and e-waste (GEI_RE) recycling shares. Our analysis, which included information gathered from 19 European nations from 2012 to 2019, shows that GEI_MW significantly improves EPI and ECO. On the other hand, there is no meaningful connection between ecological sustainability and GEI_PA. EPI is strongly positively impacted by GEI_MA and EPI and ECO are positively impacted by GEI_RW. Additionally, GEI_RB has a beneficial impact on EPI, HLT, and ECO, but GEI_RE has a considerable favorable impact on both HLT and ECO. These findings highlight how crucial it is for the government to fund R&D for green economy projects in order to achieve ecological sustainability.

Trade openness, human capital, natural resource, and carbon emission nexus: a CS-ARDL assessment for Central Asian economies

There is a call for global efforts to preserve the ecological systems that can sustain economies and people's lives. However, carbon emission (CEM) threatens the sustainability of humanity and ecological systems. This analysis looked into the influence of energy use (ERU), human capital (HCI), trade openness (TOP), natural resource (NRR), population, and economic growth (ENG) on CEM. The paper gathered panel data from the Central Asia region from 1990 to 2020. The CS-ARDL was applied to establish the long-term interaction among the indicators. The paper's findings indicated the presence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the Central Asia regions. Also, the empirical evidence highlighted that energy use, natural resources, and trade openness cause higher levels of CEM. However, the research verified that CEM can be improved through human capital and urban population growth. The study also found that HCI moderates the interaction between NRR and CEM. The causality assessment indicated a one-way interplay between ENG, ERU, NRR, and CEM. The study proposes that to support ecological stability in these regions, policy-makers should concentrate on developing human capital, investing in renewable energy sources, and utilizing contemporary technologies to harness natural resources in the economies of Central Asia.

Welfare influences of green energy volatility in Vietnam: new evidence from an extended TVP-VAR approach

We present a study utilizing TVP-VAR - a time-varying parameter vector autoregression combined with an extended joint connectedness approach to examine the interrelationships between welfare and green energy volatility in the system of variables, including economic growth measured by gross domestic product (GDP), rural income, urban income, and renewable energy consumption. We characterize the connectedness of these variables from 19954 to 2019 in Vietnam. Net total directional connectedness of renewable energy consumption and GDP, rural-urban income suggests that both GDP and rural income have constantly been recipients of net contagion shocks, and urban income is a net critical receiver in the period 2001-2010. Renewable energy consumption consistently behaves as an important transmitter of shocks. Pairwise connectedness reveals that renewable energy consumption demonstrates a consistent shock-transmitting behavior for other variables. Renewable energy consumption could be either a transmitter or a receiver of shock from GDP, depending on the period. Our findings are critical since they will help policymakers formulate appropriate policies for reducing the vulnerabilities of these variables and minimizing the spread of risk and uncertainty among them, then improving the individuals' welfare and obtaining ecological sustainability in the case of developing countries.

A wavelet analysis of dynamic connectedness between geopolitical risk and renewable energy volatility during the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine-Russia conflicts

The study explores inter-relations between the geopolitical risk index and renewable energy volatility index at frequency dimensions from April 4, 2019, to June 13, 2022, using novel multivariate wavelet analysis approaches, such as partial wavelet coherency and partial wavelet gain. Our method allows us to study these interlinkages at various time frequencies. We also consider the influences of uncertain events like the COVID-19 pandemic and Ukraine-Russia conflicts on their interconnectedness. The multiple coherencies between the geopolitical risk index and the green energy sector suggest four cycles in the low-frequency range (50-130 days) from March 2020 to October 2021 and from February 2022 to June 2022. The partial coherency between the geopolitical risk index and renewable energy volatility index suggests connectedness between renewable energy dynamics and geopolitical risks during the COVID-19 duration and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The partial wavelet coherency of the volatility of green bonds and geopolitical risks suggests that alterations in green bonds caused alterations in geopolitical risks, and the association is negative from February 2021 to April 2021. Both indicators are in-phase with geopolitical risks pushing from February 2020 to April 2020 and from October 2021 to the end of the sample. The partial coherence between clean energy and geopolitical risk suggests geopolitical risks pushing anti-phase connectedness from September 2020 to September 2022. Our findings help policymakers design the most effective policies to lessen the vulnerabilities of these indicators and reduce the spread of risk or uncertainty across them by having insightful knowledge about the primary antecedents of the contagions among these indicators.

Analyzing the impact of industrial growth and agricultural development on environmental degradation in South and East Asia

This study aims to examine the impact of industrial growth, agricultural value added, economic growth, and renewable energy consumption on environmental pollution in South and East Asian countries using panel ARDL approach over the period 1970-2020. Furthermore, the impact of institutional quality in this relationship is uniquely explored. Baseline model suggests that environmental damage is exacerbated by agricultural value added and industrial growth in the long run, but not in the short run. The relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions is an obvious inverted U-shaped link in the long run, but it is a U-shaped association in the short run. Renewable energy consumption has significant adverse effects on environmental pollution both in the short and long term. In the long run, institutional quality plays a stronger moderating role in the association between baseline regressors and environmental pollution. Also, institutional quality helps to expand the ability of industry and agriculture to improve environmental quality. Lastly, the threshold results reflect that the impact of regressors on environmental degradation is penetrating into the level of institutional quality. The strong progressive effects of agricultural and industrial growth on environmental degradation are more similar to the existing literature in the long term, but not in the short term. In addition, the long-term condensation effect of renewable energy on CO2 emissions and the enhancing effect of economic growth on CO2 emissions are relatively similar to existing literature. In contrast to weak institutional quality, strong institutions can improve the ability of agriculture and industry to reduce environmental damage.

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.

Impact of energy and industrial structure on environmental quality and urbanization: evidence from a panel of BRICS countries

Global sustainable development demands boosting renewable energy and optimizing industrial structures. This study employs a panel vector autoregressive (PVAR) model to examine the dynamic relationship between energy structure, industrial structure, environmental quality, and urbanization in the BRICS countries from 1990 to 2021. Energy structure, industrial structure, environmental quality, and urbanization cointegrate empirically. Energy mix optimization and industrial structure upgrades can improve environmental quality. Energy enhancements also supported urbanization. Accelerating industrial change could adversely impact urbanization. The impulse response results demonstrate that expanding renewable energy and tertiary industries such as financial and service boost environmental quality and urbanization. The variance decomposition investigation reveals significant "path dependence" in reducing carbon emissions and increasing urbanization. Finally, based on the findings, policy insights for enhancing environmental quality and fostering urbanization are laid out and disputed, with long-term implications for environmental managers and urban planners.

Scrutinizing the nexus between green innovations and the sustainability of environmental system: novel insights from European database

A study is presented in this paper that examines the effect of environmental innovation (EI) on environmental performance (EP). Six measures are used to reflect environmental innovation, including the percentage of enterprises that invest in environmental innovation, the percentage of enterprises implementing environmental innovation activities, the number of ISO 14001 certificates, patents related to environmental innovation, the total R&D personnel and researchers, and the amount of green early-stage investments. The estimation results show that EI positively impacts EP in 21 European countries using different econometric techniques during the 2011-2019 period. By using various econometric techniques (namely a panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) model, a feasible generalized least square estimates (FGLS) model, and the two-step general method of moment (the two-step GMM), our research demonstrates how environmental innovation impacts on environmental quality. The short- and long-term effects of autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methods were also investigated using pooled mean groups (PMGs) to distinguish the short-run and long-run influences of EI. The relationship between EI and EP is explored by demonstrating how EI affects EP short- and long-term and comparing its influence on EP across many component measures of EI: air quality, sanitation, drinking water, heavy metals, waste management, biodiversity, habitat, ecosystem services, water resources, and agriculture. Notably, we find that the influences of EI become more pronounced in a country characterized by a well-developed institutional system. Our findings suggest policy implications to help countries invest in research and development with concerns about environmental damage mitigations more effectively. These findings are critical to suggest a way to help countries pursue ecological sustainability.

How do energy supply and energy use link to environmental degradation in China?

China's energy supply and energy use are closely linked to environmental degradation. The country's heavy reliance on coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as its rapidly growing demand for energy, have contributed to air and water pollution, soil erosion, and other environmental problems. To address these issues, China must transition to cleaner and more sustainable forms of energy and implement policies to reduce energy demand and promote conservation. This paper explores the impacts of total primary energy supply and energy use on environmental degradation in China, using international trade and economic growth as moderating variables from 1971 to 2019. The results indicate that the total primary energy supply is significant at a 1% significance level, which suggests that it strongly impacts the ecological footprint. Energy use and international trade are significant at a 5% level, indicating that they also influence ecological footprint, albeit to a lesser extent. Economic growth is significant at a 1% significance level, suggesting a strong positive association with the ecological footprint. Energy supply improves the environment in China, whereas energy use degrades the environment. Policymakers should focus on promoting energy efficiency in the industrial and transportation sectors. This can be achieved through the implementation of energy-saving technologies, the promotion of public transportation, and the development of low-carbon transportation systems.

Dynamic connectedness between FinTech innovation and energy volatility during the war in time of pandemic

We use an extended joint connectedness technique and the time-varying parameter vector autoregression (ETVP-VAR) method to examine connections between the ARK FinTech Innovation ETF (ARKF), Global X FinTech ETF (FINX), and energy volatility by connectedness as a quality of eight indicators from April 1, 2019, to September 26, 2022. Our results demonstrate that the pattern of ARKF and FINX is picked up as a crucial net shock transmitter that nearly permeates our analyzed sample. Since the COVID-19 epidemic, more people are adopting FinTech partly because of their concern about the disease spreading through social contact and cash handling. Moreover, green bonds are net shock recipients over the long term. Furthermore, during the COVID-19 duration and the Russo-Ukrainian War, shocks transmitted to green bonds soared sharply. By contrast, keeping with the clean energy and crude oil trend, these indicators transmit a network of shocks during the period under study. When considering wind power, it becomes clear that this signal first acts as a net shock transmitter before changing into a net receiver of shocks from mid-2021 onwards. We recognize that the system is a net shock receiver regarding clean power. The dynamics invariably lead the series to change to a net shock transmitter in mid-2021. By mid-2021, the developments always cause the series to transform into a net shock transmitter.

Dynamic connectedness between green energy and carbon risk during Russia-Ukraine conflict: new evidence from a wavelet analysis

The study explores the inter-relations between green and renewable energy and carbon risk. Key market participants with varying time horizons include traders, authorities, and other financial entities. This research examines these relationships and frequency dimensions from February 7, 2017, to June 13, 2022, using novel multivariate wavelet analysis approaches, such as partial wavelet coherency and partial wavelet gain. The multiple coherencies between green bond, clean energy, and carbon emission futures imply that these regions were situated at low frequencies (relating to approximately 124-day frequency) and run from the beginning of 2017 to the beginning of 2018, in the first half of 2020, and from the beginning of 2022 to the end of the sample. The relationship between the solar energy index, envitec biogas, biofuels, geothermal energy, and carbon emission futures, is significant in the low-frequency band starting from early 2020 to middle 2022 and in the high-frequency band starting from early 2022 to middle 2022. Our research demonstrates the partial coherencies between these indicators during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. The partial coherency between the S&P green bond index and carbon risk suggests that carbon risk pushes anti-phase connectedness. The partial phase difference S&P global clean energy index and carbon emission futures (from early April 2022 to the end of April 2022) recommend that indicators are in-phase with carbon risk pushing and the phase (from early May 2022 to middle June 2022), suggesting that carbon emission futures are in-phase with S&P global clean energy index pushing.

Scrutinizing interlinkages between digitalization, economic complexity, green technologies, green energy consumption and CO2 emission by quantile spillovers in Vietnam

We use quantile vector autoregression (QVAR) to identify the connection between six variables related to digitalization (proxied by a number of Internet users and mobile cellular subscriptions), green technology development, green energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and economic complexity index from 1996 to 2019 in Vietnam. The dynamic connectedness of the system is 62% and 14% in the short and long term, respectively. Their connectedness is intense for highly positive and negative quantiles (over 80% quantile). In contrast, economic complexity transmits shocks in the short term and manifests itself even more in the long term. Green technology development is the central receiver of short- and long-term shocks. Besides, digitalization captured by a number of Internet users has switched from shock transmitters to shock receivers in the short term. Other metrics like mobile cellular subscriptions, green energy consumption, and CO2 emissions are mainly shock-receiver-driven. In the short term, there was volatility, especially from 2009 to 2013, due to unprecedented events like destructive changes in political, economic, and financial issues in the globe. Our findings are critical for economists and policymakers in promoting a country's digitalization, green technology performance, and green energy on the path toward sustainable development.

Impact of energy depletion, human development, and income distribution on natural resource sustainability

Constant exploitation of natural resources has resulted from the industrialization and urbanization of society. One of the possible causes of the COVID-19 pandemic is an ecological disturbance caused by excessive resource exploitation. Countries worldwide have taken precautionary measures to limit the spread of this disease because of its highly infectious nature: lockdowns, quarantines, curfews, etc. This paper explores the impacts of energy depletion and the human development index on natural resources, considering the roles of CO₂ emissions and economic growth in China from 1971 to 2019. We apply advanced economic modeling using the Phillips-Ouliaris test for integration, Gaussian identity mixed-effects Generalized Linear Model, and Robust GEE population-averaged model for long-run estimates. Results explain that CO₂ emissions and economic growth devalue natural resources, while the human development index and energy depletion increase them. Depletion of natural resources occurs due to overexploitation and overuse of natural resources, as well as unsustainable planning and waste. In the case of natural resources that man uses to make other resources, such as dams, roads, sports complexes, etc., these are considered human-made resources. It is, therefore, essential to develop human resources as a part of the natural resource development process. Research limitations and future directions are discussed.

An application of Bayesian vector heterogeneous autoregressions to study network interlinkages of the crude oil and gold, stock, and cryptocurrency markets during the COVID-19 outbreak

We investigate fat tails and network interconnections of crude oil, gold, stock, and cryptocurrency using seven Bayesian vector heterogeneous autoregression fashions. In this paper, we incorporate parameter uncertainty by using Bayesian VAR models for estimation. To make rational investment decisions, we decompose a network of financial assets and commodity prices into various time horizons to obtain essential insight and knowledge. During the short, medium, and long run, this paper differentiates dynamically between network interlinkages between these markets. We found some noteworthy results in our study. In the first place, network interlinkages exhibit remarkable differences over time. Interlinkages between networks are increased in the short term, medium term, and long term due to transient events occurring in markets during the study period. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic, the long-term ties within the system are significantly impacted. Additionally, based on net directional linkages, each market's role shifts (from sending to receiving shock and vice versa) before the pre-COVID-19 pandemic course, whereas they remain persistent during COVID-19. Observations of short- and medium-term trends reveal that three markets, namely, crude oil, gold, and stock, receive shocks, which are transmitted to these markets by the cryptocurrency market. In terms of long-horizon measures, the results indicate that the gold and cryptocurrency markets persist as shock transmitters. Our findings are critical since policymakers can also design appropriate policies to reduce the vulnerabilities of such markets and prevent risk spread and instability.

The driving influence of multidimensional urbanization on green total factor productivity in China: evidence from spatiotemporal analysis

China is experiencing a swift transformation from a rural to an urban society. This societal transition is the result of a country's ambition toward economic development. Rapid urbanization impacts on human wellbeing, environment, and infrastructure. Unlike many cases of urban extension, China's urbanization has led to increase in environmental issues, rather than to contain, and posed serious challenges to achieve sustainable development. To date, nevertheless, there is a little empirical enquiry on the spatiotemporal effects of multidimensional urbanization on green total factor productivity. Taking this into account, this article constructs a spatial panel data model based on 283 Chinese cities during 2006-2019. The results showed that the three types of urbanization (i.e., population, land, and economic) have positive effect on green total factor productivity (GTFP). Population urbanization has indirect positive effect on GTFP. Local land urbanization inhibits while surrounding land urbanization promotes GTFP. Economic urbanization has positive direct effect on GTFP. Considering regional heterogeneity, population and economic urbanization have positive effect on GTFP in eastern region. In central region, land urbanization significantly promotes GTFP, while economic urbanization has significant negative effect on GTFP. In the western region, the three types of urbanization are not conducive to GTFP. Considering sized heterogeneity, population and economic types of urbanization have significant negative effect on GTFP in small- and medium-sized cities. In large cities, the three types of urbanization have significant positive effects on GTFP. Considering temporal heterogeneity, the three types of urbanization significantly promote GTFP before 2014, but economic urbanization deteriorates GTFP after 2014. Our results recommend loosening Hukou system, improving land use efficiency, and developing technology and knowledge-intensive industries.

The role of economic production, energy consumption, and trade openness in urbanization-environment nexus: a heterogeneous analysis on developing economies along the Belt and Road route

In today's world, where urbanization is at its pinnacle, has created a significant economic gap between rural and urban populations in developing economies and substantially influenced environmental degradation. This study investigates the relationship between urbanization and environmental degradation via carbon emissions among developing countries along the Belt and Road route from 1990 to 2019 while using economic production, energy consumption, and trade openness as control variables. The study engages current econometric methodologies to uncover accurate and reliable findings, and the outcomes reveal that the panel under investigation is cross-sectionally dependent and heterogeneous. Therefore, the AMG, CCEMG, and DCCEMG estimators are employed to examine the effect connection between the variables. The outcomes unveil that urbanization, economic production, and energy consumption escalate environmental degradation, but trade openness is confirmed as a trivial determinant of environmental degradation. Furthermore, the causal connections between the variables disclose bi-directional causalities between urbanization and environmental degradation and between energy consumption and environmental degradation. Nevertheless, uni-directional causalities are affirmed, spanning from economic production to environmental degradation and from trade openness to environmental degradation. Finally, policy implications are discussed.

The role of financialization in stimulating environmental innovation implementation in the European region

This paper empirically examines the influences of financial development on environmental innovation implementation. Our research is based on four measures designed to assess the effectiveness of environmental innovations in 24 European countries, including the percentage of enterprises implementing environmental innovation investment (% of surveyed firms); the percentage of enterprises implementing environmental innovation activities (e.g., implementation of resource efficiency actions, sustainable products, or ISO 14001 certificates) measured, a number of enterprises having new ISO 14001 registration and a number of environmental innovation-related patents. Based on our analysis and estimates, we reveal that the better quality of the financial system improved the environmental innovation performance in the European region during the 2011-2019 period. To shed light on the link between financialization and environmental innovations, we dig deeper into financial markets and financial institutions' depth, access, and efficiency. Our results highlight financial institutions and financial markets' depth and efficiency in enhancing EI activities. However, EI-related patents do not show any significant improvements under the changes in the financial system.

Dynamic interlinkages between the crude oil and gold and stock during Russia-Ukraine War: evidence from an extended TVP-VAR analysis

The Russia-Ukraine significantly influences the oil market. We employ a time-varying parameter vector autoregression (TVP-VAR) in combination with an extended joint connectedness approach to identify the sources of the oil market's volatility by studying interlinkages between the crude oil and gold and stock market by characterizing the connectedness of four markets starting from January 1, 2018 to April 8, 2022. Our attention is mostly paid to the period marked by the event that Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, 2022. Our results demonstrate that the war shocks appear to influence the system-wide dynamic connectedness, which signifies the interlinkages among the considered markets. Net total directional connectedness suggests that the oil and gold markets appear to be the net transmitter of spillover shocks in the system. However, there are shifts in the roles of these two markets during the time of the Russia-Ukraine war shock. Pairwise connectedness highlights the significance of the oil market in transmitting the adverse influences of shocks to other markets, especially during the Russia-Ukraine war.

Is environmental tax an enabler of circularity: new insights from the unique database

This paper provides answers to the question that the environmental tax enables the circular economy. By employing six diverse measures to reflect circularity (namely the amount of municipal waste, the number of circularity patents, the amount of circular material used, the rate of recycling waste, the rate of recycling biowaste, and the rate of recycling e-waste) and four measures of environmental tax (namely total environmental tax revenue, energy tax revenue, pollution and resource tax revenue, and transportation tax revenue) of European countries, our article provided a comprehensive analysis of the nexus between environmental tax and circularity performance. A panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) model and a feasible generalized least square estimates (FGLS) model are employed to study this association, while the dynamic fixed effects (DFE) estimator is applied to the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method to measure both the short-run and long-run effects. Our study reveals the heterogeneous effects of an environmental tax on circularity. Taxing on the energy sector, the polluted sector, and transportation stimulate the process of circularity. Notably, our estimation results reveal that environmental tax can enable European countries to transit to a circular economy, especially in the long term. Our findings are critical for economists and policymakers in using the tax as an effective tool to promote a country's circularity performance.

Alternative energy and natural resources in determining environmental sustainability: a look at the role of government final consumption expenditures in France

The global community is concerned about several environmental changes. Climate change, desertification, destruction of tropical rainforests, erosion of coastal ecosystems, soil resource loss, overfishing, species extinction, and loss of biodiversity are all contributing factors. Many commentators contend that these issues make up a cumulative, sustained human impact on the environment that has profoundly changed the surface of the Earth. We explore the effects of alternative energy sources, natural resources, and government consumption expenditures on French environmental sustainability from 1990 through 2018 under the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework. We apply advanced econometric methodologies for empirical analysis. Our long-run estimates indicate that alternative and nuclear energy, natural resources, and government final consumption expenditures are negatively associated with CO₂ emissions, while economic growth is positively related to CO₂ emissions. CO₂ emissions are negatively correlated with the square root of economic growth (EKC), thereby supporting EKC. As economic growth increases, environmental sustainability deteriorates. Eventually, EKC will make a positive contribution to environmental improvement. Future research directions, research limitations, and policy implications are discussed.

Assessing environmental quality through natural resources, energy resources, and tax revenues

Developing countries have depleted their natural resources in economic interest to achieve high economic growth. Current urbanization patterns and energy consumption and natural resource extraction are largely unsustainable. In this background, this paper investigates the impact of natural resources rent, energy resources consumption, and tax revenue on carbon emissions for developing countries. The study employed data for 48 developing countries from 1990 to 2020. We used second-generation methods for empirical analysis that control heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence in the data. The advanced panel data estimates of CS-ARDL provide reliable outcomes by addressing these panel data econometric issues. The study results revealed that natural resources or natural resources rent in their exploitation accelerates carbon emission. Similarly, energy resources excessive consumption and economic growth are highly carbon-intensive for these countries and lead to environmental degradation. In contrast, tax revenue and education stabilized the environmental quality of the study interest. Besides this, to analyze the directional association among variables, the study applied DH causality test, which indicates a bidirectional link between tax revenues and emissions, energy resources and emissions, and income and CO₂ emissions. Based on the finding, the study suggests some policy implications to limit the extraction of natural resources and abate carbon emissions by establishing appropriate strategies and imposing environmental charges.

Can Renewable Energy and Export Help in Reducing Ecological Footprint of India? Empirical Evidence from Augmented ARDL Co-Integration and Dynamic ARDL Simulations

The objective of this study is to investigate the impact of exports, renewable energy, and industrialization on the ecological footprint (EF) of India over the period spanning from 1970–2017 by employing the newly developed augmented ARDL (A-ARDL) co-integration approach and the novel dynamic ARDL (D-ARDL) technique. The empirical results demonstrate that exports and renewable energy consumption reduce the EF, while industrialization intensifies the EF. More precisely, a 1% increase in export (renewable energy consumption) reduces the EF by 0.05% (0.09%). In addition, the short-run elasticity of the GDP is found to be larger than the long-run elasticity indicating the possibility of the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) of the EF for India. The study indicates that the income effect and increased policy focus on renewable energy usage can be expected to reduce India’s per capita EF in the long run. Moreover, India’s export sector has been traditionally less energy intensive, which reflects in our findings of export growth leading to a reduction in EF. Based on the empirical findings, this study recommends some policy insights that may assist India to effectively reduce its ecological footprint.

Socioeconomic and resource efficiency impacts of digital public services

This paper measures the socioeconomic and resource-efficient influences of digital transformation in the public sector in the European region. To capture the socioeconomic impacts of digital public services, we employ a socioeconomic score index calculated as the unweighted average of the re-scaled scores for changes in employment, exports, and turnover from eco-industries. Regarding resource-efficient impacts, we employ the resource efficiency score index measured as the unweighted average of the re-scaled scores for material, energy productivity, and the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Measures such as user-centricity, business mobility, and key enablers are used to demonstrate the level of digitalization in the public sector. According to our estimations based on various econometric techniques, digital public services have a favorable effect on the economy and society through a positive impact on employment, exports, and turnover of eco-industries. The effects of digitalization on resource productivity follow a nonlinear U-shaped curve, suggesting that the improvement of resource efficiency is only present when the digital transformation process reaches a certain level.

Abundance of natural resources and environmental sustainability: the roles of manufacturing value-added, urbanization, and permanent cropland

Sustainable management of natural resources and green urbanization is crucial because it assists the use of resources wisely without unnecessary use and without affecting future generations' needs. This research aims to examine the impact of the abundance of natural resources on China's CO2 emissions while moderating the roles of manufacturing value-added, urbanization, and permanent cropland from 1970 to 2016. This study developed a comprehensive empirical analysis, applied advanced econometric methodologies, and used the generalized linear model (GLM) and robust generalized estimating equation (GEE). Overall, the results conclude that natural resource abundance and permanent cropland are negatively associated with China's CO2 emissions. However, urbanization and manufacturing value-added are negatively related to those CO2 emissions. Moreover, natural resource abundance and permanent cropland improve environmental sustainability while urbanization and manufacturing value-added deteriorate that environmental sustainability. It is suggested that policymakers should promote sustainable management of natural resources and encourage economic usage of natural resources to boost resilient ecosystems; shape sustainable places, lifestyles, and communities; and consume natural resources less. Additionally, policymakers should consider collaborating with landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, transport planners, ecologists, sociologists, physiologists, economists, physicists, and other specialists to develop green urban communities. The limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Understanding the dynamics of natural resources rents, environmental sustainability, and sustainable economic growth: new insights from China

There is a close relationship between natural resources and production in many sectors, and production and consumption can also have an environmental impact. Low environmental quality affects economic growth and well-being. Environmental protection and economic growth cannot be maximized simultaneously. Choosing the right balance between the two aims is imperative for each country. By moderating the role of merchandise trade and manufacturing value-added from 1970 to 2016, we examine the dynamics of China's natural resource rents, environmental sustainability, and sustainable economic growth. Overall, the results of this study indicate that natural resources improve environmental sustainability at the expense of economic growth. In contrast, financial development, merchandise trade, and urban population growth promote environmental degradation. It is vital to understand governance mechanisms to sustain natural resource policies, considering environmental, social, and governance concerns to benefit society.

Financial inclusion and environmental sustainability in Ghana: application of the dynamic ARDL estimator

Numerous explorations have been conducted on the determinants of Ghana's environmental quality. However, to the best of my knowledge, there has been no research on the connection between financial inclusion and environmental sustainability in the country. This study was therefore conducted to help fill that gap. In attaining the aforestated goal, econometric techniques that yield valid and reliable outcomes were engaged. From the results, all the series were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. The DARDL estimator with the support of the conventional ARDL estimator was adopted to explore the marginal effects of the predictors on the explained variable, and from the results, financial inclusion worsened environmental sustainability in the nation via high carbon emissions. Also, foreign direct investments degraded the country's ecological quality validating the pollution haven hypothesis. Finally, trade openness, population growth, and energy consumption were detrimental to environmental sustainability in the nation. On the causal directions amidst the series, unidirectional causalities from financial inclusion and trade openness to carbon effusions were disclosed. Also, feedback causalities between foreign direct investments and carbon emissions; between population growth and carbon effluents; and between energy consumption and carbon exudates were unfolded. The study recommended among others that, financial establishments should not fund the production of carbon-intensive goods, but those that are friendly to the environment. The government can also help to improve environmental sustainability by establishing regulations to mandate financial entities to engage in eco-friendly activities.

Natural resources, population aging, and environmental quality: analyzing the role of green technologies

Depletion of natural resources and population aging are the two most critical challenges for environmental sustainability. However, the research that integrates natural resources and population aging in the same environmental policy framework is still scant. Therefore, this study investigates the linkage between natural resources, population aging, green technologies, and ecological footprint (EF) of G7 countries. In addition, this study also explores the moderating effects of green technologies on the relationship between natural resources and EF. Drawing on the panel times series data from 1970 to 2017, we employ a cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lags (CS-ARDL) model for short- and long-run empirical estimation. Our empirical analysis indicates that natural resource use exacerbates ecological degradation by increasing EF. By contrast, population aging and green technologies present positive ameliorative effects on EF. Interestingly, the interaction effect of green technologies and natural resources indicates that the damage to ecological quality from natural resources can be effectively improved by means of green technologies, thus maintaining environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the results of panel quantile regression show that the effects of population aging and green technologies on the overall ecological footprint distribution in G7 countries are heterogeneous, while the effects of natural resources on the distribution of all conditions of the ecological footprint are positive. In addition, this paper verifies the causal relationship between the variables using the Dumitrescu and Hurlin test. The findings reveal that the relevant changes in all explanatory variables are bilaterally causally associated with EF. Based on these results, this paper provides some feasible policy recommendations.

Role of alternative and nuclear energy in stimulating environmental sustainability: impact of government expenditures

Environmental sustainability is fundamental to the survival of our planet and ourselves, as polluted air, water, and land severely affect communities and society to thrive and damage the quality of life. This study examined the role of alternative and nuclear energy in stimulating the environment sustainably while mediating the function of government expenditure and economic growth in the top three highest CO₂ emitter countries. We apply advanced econometric methodologies for empirical analysis from 1981 to 2016 and find long-run relationships among the variables that suggest general government final consumption expenditure and economic growth are positively related to CO₂ emissions. Moreover, alternative and nuclear energy and the square root of economic growth (EKC) improve environmental sustainability. The general government's final consumption expenditure and economic growth deteriorate environmental sustainability. Policymakers in the top three highest CO₂ emitter countries are encouraged to adopt a comprehensive approach to access the compatibility of alternative and nuclear energy sources, changing the source of uranium from mined ore to seawater, encourage, tide, and include macroeconomic stabilization, public and private fiscal position goals with the environmental sustainability policies. Moreover, governments are suggested to incorporate green fiscal policies to address the global environmental challenges and promote a green economy. Aligning government expenditures with environmental goals, reflecting externalities in prices, broader fiscal reform by making fiscal space for clean and green investment is highly encouraged to achieve the sustainable development goals' target. Study limitations and directions for future research in the area are presented.

Are digital business and digital public services a driver for better energy security? Evidence from a European sample

This paper empirically analyses the impacts of the digital transformation process in the business and public sectors on energy security (ES). We employ 8 indicators to represent four aspects of energy security, including availability, acceptability, develop-ability, and sustainability. Digital businesses development is captured by e-Commerce (including e-Commerce sales, e-Commerce turnover, e-Commerce web sales) and e-Business (including customer relation management (CRM) usage and cloud usage). Digital public services development is reflected by business mobility and key enablers. Different econometric techniques are utilized in a database of 24 European Union countries from 2011 to 2019. Our estimation results demonstrate that digital businesses play a critical role in improving the acceptability and develop-ability of energy security, while digitalization in public services supports achieving energy sustainability goals. The use of modern digital technology such as big data, cloud computing is extremely important to ensure the security of the energy system, especially the availability of energy. For further discussion on the role of digital public services, we reveal a nonlinear association between digitalization in the public sector and energy intensity and energy consumption, suggesting the acceptability and develop-ability of energy security can be enhanced if the digital transformation process achieves a certain level.

Clean energy investment and financial development as determinants of environment and sustainable economic growth: evidence from China

Environmental sustainability has become one of the most common phrases in discussions about climate change. This study examines the impact of clean energy investment and financial development on environmental sustainability and China's economic growth, using manufacturing value-added and urbanization as moderator variables from 1970 to 2016. We used advanced econometric methodologies for empirical estimations, used structural break unit root tests, fully modified least square, dynamic least square, and robust least square multiple regressions for long-run estimates. Overall, the results determine that clean energy investment is negatively associated with CO₂ emissions and ecological footprint while positively associated with China's economic growth. Financial development, manufacturing value-added, and urbanization are positively associated with CO₂ emissions, ecological footprint, and China's economic growth. Moreover, clean energy investment improves environmental sustainability at the expense of economic growth. Financial development, manufacturing value-added, and urbanization encourage economic growth at the expense of environmental sustainability. We argued that the local governments play a critical role in lifting the outstanding barriers to cleaner energy investment, addressing disincentives, including pricing carbon dioxide emissions, reforming inefficient nonrenewable fossil fuel subsidies, and addressing regulatory and market rigidities that can undesirably affect the attractiveness of clean energy investment. Policymakers are suggested to encourage green finance strategy for the financial sector to broader sustainable development objectives. At the heart of green manufacturing, industrialization policies are needed to integrate diverse intentions, like inclusive growth, environmental protection, and productivity through a wider range of economic, social, and environmental policy frameworks suitable for decoupling growth from social and environmental unsustainability.