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

Can environmentally friendly technology help China to achieve a carbon neutrality target by 2060? An asymmetrical based study in China

Climate change-related environmental challenges are prompting an increasing number of countries to set carbon-neutral targets. Since 2007, China has pursued numerous initiatives to attain carbon neutrality by 2060, including increasing the percentage of non-fossil energy, developing zero-emission and low-emission technologies, and taking actions that reduce CO2 emissions or boost carbon sinks. As a result, utilizing quarterly data from 2008/Q1 to 2021/Q4, and applying the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach, this study evaluates the effectiveness of the measures taken by China to improve the ecological situation. The results of the study show that the measures enacted to reduce CO2 emissions did not accomplish their ultimate purpose. Specifically: (i) high-speed railways and new energy vehicles do not improve the environment in the long run; (ii) investments and patents in the energy sector, as well as low-carbon sources, will degrade the environment; (iii) only investments in the treatment of environmental pollution will improve the ecological situation. Various policy implications are suggested based on the empirical results in order to attain environmental sustainability.

A different look at the environmental Kuznets curve from the perspective of environmental deterioration and economic policy uncertainty: evidence from fragile countries

Environmental degradation is one of the most significant issues that developing nations confront and needs to be resolved right away in order for them to achieve sustainable development. Government policies are crucial in this situation since emerging nations frequently struggle with the issue of policy ambiguity, which can result in environmental deterioration. In this context, this study investigates how policy uncertainty affects environmental degradation in the five fragile emerging economies known as the Fragile Five-Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey. Using data from 1996 to 2019, we estimate a Panel Quantile Regression analysis. The empirical findings indicate that economic policy uncertainty and technology innovation increases the environmental degradation whereas environmental degradation is slowed down by financial development and renewable energy consumption. Empirical evidence also confirms the presence of EKC hypothesis in fragile economies. Based on the findings, we suggest both a policy and an environmental framework for achieving sustainable development in fragile economies.

Coordination between scientific and technological innovation and the high-quality development of Baijiu industry: The coupling and decoupling perspective

The Baijiu industry is a significant contributor to both the food industry and the light industry. Its high tax characteristics effectively promote the sustainable development of the regional economy. First, the evaluation index system of scientific and technological innovation (STI) and high-quality development of Baijiu industry (HQDBI) were constructed. The entropy-improved CRITIC method was used to measure the weights. Second, the coordination relationship and evolution trend of STI and HQDBI were explored using the coupling coordination model and the Tapio decoupling model. Then, the transfer law and key influencing factors were further investigated using the Markov chain and grey correlation, respectively. The main contribution is the dynamic evolution of the coupling and decoupling relationships from the perspective of multiple Baijiu provinces, and deeply depicts the coordination relationship and evolutionary trends of STI and HQDBI. The results show that: the spatial distribution of the coupling coordination degree shows high values in the east-west and low values in the north-south characteristics. In 2021, a pattern of coordinated development in Baijiu provinces has emerged along the Yangtze River basin. The decoupling state is mainly strong decoupling, but it remains poor in Shanxi. The coordination process is unstable and difficult to achieve leapfrog development. Coordination, sustainability and innovation environment have a greater impact on the coordination of subsystems.

Technological innovation, militarization, and environmental change: evidence from BRICS economies

In the complex international society, the economic development and defense construction of BRICS countries have attracted increasing attention. This article incorporates technological innovation, militarization, and environmental change into a unified analytical framework to assess the potential impact of technological progress and defense military expenditure on the environment in BRICS countries. Based on CSD tests, unit root tests, and cointegration tests, this study constructs a CS-ARDL model to examine the long-term and short-term relationships among various variables from 1990 to 2021. The results show that technological innovation, military expenditure, and economic growth can significantly increase ecological footprint in the long run, while in the short term, technological innovation and economic growth significantly increase ecological footprint, and the impact of military expenditure is not significant. It is suggested that BRICS countries should focus on supporting low-carbon technology policies and research and development investment, while also considering the use of cutting-edge technology to improve military intelligence capabilities in order to reduce the negative impact of technological innovation and military activities on the environment.

Asymmetric role of green energy, innovation, and technology in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions: evidence from India

The primary cause of environmental degradation, which poses a danger to the long-term viability of the ecosystem, is the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). For this reason, the Glasgow Climate Pact (COP26) established a decarbonization goal in response to this ecological concern, for which all economic players have a responsibility. India is among the participants who have a target set for them to decarbonize their economies by the year 2060 via the use of green energy and the advancement of science and innovation. Nevertheless, the asymmetrical effect of green energy, technology, and innovation on India's decarbonization program was not sufficiently explored in the prior study; hence, this research aims to fill this literature vacuum by considering India's GHG emissions from 1990 to 2020 by leveraging the non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model. The findings reveal the asymmetric influences of variables of interest on GHG emissions during the short and long term and under positive and negative shocks. Regarding the positive shock, long-term findings demonstrate that innovation and technical know-how grow GHG emissions and accelerate environmental degradation. However, a negative shock in innovations and technological know-how is opposed to a positive shock and improving environmental conditions. Further, positive shocks in green energy boost environmental effectiveness by reducing GHG secretions in India. In contrast, the negative shock in green energy deteriorates the environment by triggering GHG releases. These factual findings compel the Indian government to prioritize green technologies in addition to green energy generation to decouple economic growth from greenhouse gas emissions and meet rising energy demands.

Empowering renewable energy consumption through public-private investment, urbanization, and globalization: Evidence from CS-ARDL and NARDL

This study examines the interrelationship among public-private investment, urbanization, globalization, and renewable energy consumption in the BIMSTEC nations for 1995-2021. The study implemented linear and nonlinear frameworks to document the magnitudes of explanatory variables on REC. Referring to the study findings with CSD, CIPS, CADF, and PCT disclosed the presence of cross-sectional dependency; variables are integrated after the first difference, i.e., I (1), and long-run association. According to symmetric and asymmetric coefficients, Public-private partnerships and globalization have emerged as significant catalysts for developing renewable energy sources. At the same time, urbanization is exposed to an adverse tie with REC, especially in the long-run. Based on the abovementioned findings, the study presents crucial policy recommendations to facilitate the expeditious transition to renewable energy within the BIMSTEC nations. Policymakers should prioritize the cultivation of robust public-private partnerships, the provision of incentives for investments in renewable energy, and the formulation of comprehensive regulatory frameworks.

Can technological progress, renewable and nuclear energy consumption be the remedy for global climate crises? An examination of leading OECD countries

Energy is the most critical input for production and consumption. The inputs of energy cause irreversible damage to the environment. The studies carried out to reduce the environmental impact of the methods used in energy production are extremely valuable. This study aims to reveal the effects of technological development, nuclear energy consumption, and renewable energy use on environmental degradation. The patent numbers, technological development, GDP, renewable energy, and nuclear energy consumption data of 16 OECD countries covering the years 1996-2019 were used in the empirical analysis. The findings of panel FMOLS and DOLS methods reveal that technological progress, nuclear, and renewable energy consumption significantly reduce CO2 emissions. In line with these findings, critical policy implications have been suggested.

The impact of technological innovation and financial development on environmental pollution in gulf cooperation council - A linear and nonlinear ARDL approach

Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are highly vulnerable to climate change, including rising sea levels, extreme weather, and other environmental and social issues. GCC countries showed remarkable economic growth and development. However, this growth and development put severe pressure on the environment, leading to the degradation of the Environment. Therefore, it is essential to investigate essential factors of environmental degradation, such as technological innovation and financial development. However, per capita income and energy consumption are also crucial factors of environmental degradation. Henceforth, the study carried out panel data from 2001 to 2019 to examine the influence of technological innovation, financial development, energy consumption, and per capita income on environmental degradation in GCC. After conducting necessary preliminary tests, the study employed a symmetric and asymmetric ARDL approach to quantify the numerical estimates. Both symmetric and asymmetric models show that technological innovation reduces environmental degradation, while energy consumption, per capita, and financial development expedite the ecological deterioration in GCC. The Wald tests demonstrate the asymmetric relationship between technological innovation, energy consumption, financial development, and environmental degradation. However, the study fails to find a significant asymmetric relationship between per capita and ecological degradation. The recommendations are added in the recommendation part of the paper.

Clarifying the relationship between green investment, technological innovation, financial openness, and renewable energy consumption in MINT

The importance of Renewable energy has been well documented in the literature, especially in the nexus of renewable energy-led environmental sustainability. The purpose of the study is to gauge the effects of green investment (GI), technological innovation (TI), and financial Openness (FO) on Renewable Energy Consumption (REC) in MINT for the period 1996-2019. Several econometric tools have been considered in documenting the target nexus, including the panel unit root test following CADF and CIPS, Error correction Cointegration test, CS-ARDL, nonlinear ARDL, and directional causality test by employing the D-H Causality test. The panel unit root test revealed that all the variables become stationary after the first difference. The long-run association in the target model is unveiled with the panel cointegration test. A positive and statistically significant connection regarding FO, TI, and GI coefficients on REC has been exposed. It suggests that the progress in RE development and inclusion in economic activities could be amplified through FO, TI, and GI. Inferring the results of asymmetric valuation, the test statistics of a standard Wald test document asymmetric association in the long run and short run. Furthermore, the coefficients of positive and negative innovation in explanatory variables, i.e., TI, GI, & FO, divulge a positive statistically significant tie to REC, which is valid in long-run and short-run assessment.

The role of foreign direct investments, urbanization, productivity, and energy consumption in Finland's carbon emissions: an ARDL approach

This study investigates the effects of productivity, energy consumption, foreign direct investments, and urbanization on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in Finland during 2000-2020 using an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The results show that (i) there is evidence of cointegration among variables; (ii) energy consumption has a positive effect on CO2 emissions in the long run; (iii) labor productivity and urbanization have a negative effect on CO2 emissions in the long run; (iv) foreign direct investments are not a significant explainer of CO2 emissions. The results are discussed with some policy implications and suggested future research.

Asymmetric impact of technological innovation, foreign direct investment and agricultural production on environmental degradation: evidence from Pakistan

The present study analyzes the asymmetric effects of technical innovation, foreign direct investment, and agriculture productivity on Pakistan's environmental degradation from 1990 to 2020. A non-linear autoregressive model (NARDL) has been used for the analysis. The asymmetric effects have been computed for both the long and short run. The empirical results show that there is equilibrium long-run relationship among the variables. Moreover, it is found that the effect of FDI on CO2 emission is positive regardless of whether there are positive or negative shocks to FDI in the long run. The short-run results are similar except for the positive shocks to FDIat lag one, which reduces environmental degradation in Pakistan. However, in the long run, population growth and positive (negative) shocks to technical innovation have a negative and significant impact on CO2, whereas agriculture productivity is the main source of environmental degradation in Pakistan. The asymmetric tests show that FDI and agriculture productivity have strong asymmetric effects on the CO2 emissions in the long run, whereas there is weak evidence of, in the short and long run, asymmetric effects of technical innovations in Pakistan. These results are statistically significant, valid, and stable as per most of the diagnostic tests conducted and reported in the study.

Technological innovations, renewable energy, globalization, financial development, and carbon emissions: role of inward remittances for top ten remittances receiving countries

Asides from renewable energy consumption, technological innovation and remittances are mostly ignored as critical tools and resources that can be adopted to ameliorate environmental worries, even when remittances have more considerable resource inflow than official development aids. Based on this information, the current research investigates the implications of technological innovation, remittances, globalization, financial development, and renewable energy on CO2 emissions in top remittances-receiving countries from 1990 to 2021. To obtain reliable estimates, we use a battery of advanced econometric techniques and method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) method. The AMG results suggest that innovation, remittances, renewable energy, and financial development alleviate CO2 emanations, whereas globalization and economic growth worsen environmental sustainability by increasing CO2 emissions. Besides, the MMQR results confirm that renewable energy, innovation, and remittances decrease CO2 emissions across all quantiles. A bidirectional causality exists amid financial development and CO2 emanations, and across remittances and CO2 emissions. However, one-way causality flows from economic growth, renewable energy and innovation to CO2. This study suggests some essential measures for ecological sustainability in light of the findings.

The effect of mandatory environmental regulation on green development efficiency: evidence from China

The existing literature finds that mandatory environmental regulation (MER) can significantly reduce environmental pollution. However, much less is known about how the implementation of MER affects green development efficiency (GDE). Based on the Air Pollution Control Action Plan which was enforced in 2013 in China's most developed regions as an exogenous shock, we find that first, MER has a significant negative effect on the improvement of GDE by reducing regional scale efficiency. Second, MER mainly reduces the GDE of cities with stronger regulation intensities and with larger economic volumes. Third, MER also has a negative impact on regional green total factor productivity by changing technical progress. We suggest that when implementing MER, governments should enhance regional and global cooperation, promote green technology, and use comprehensive policy tools to stimulate firms' green innovation.

Renewable Energy Consumption and Environmental Sustainability in Canada: Does Political Stability Make a Difference?

Energy is unquestionably necessary for economic progress; nevertheless, it also produces CO₂ emissions, which are the primary cause of climate change and environmental degradation. Renewable energy, which consists of non-carbohydrate energy sources that do not or seldom emit emissions, can assist the accomplishment of both ecological sustainability and sustainable development in this respect. Against this background, this paper takes into account political risk and assesses the impact of renewable energy use on CO₂ emissions in Canada from 1990 to 2018 controlling economic growth and trade globalization. The present research utilized an innovative dynamic ARDL method that overcomes the limitations of the ARDL method. The results revealed significant evidence of cointegration. In the long run, we established that a surge in economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization mitigates environmental degradation. Furthermore, the outcomes of the frequency domain causality disclosed that in the long term, economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization can predict CO₂ emissions in Canada. Since the political stability in Canada has helped to attract foreign firms to invest. Therefore, ensuring political stability will bring in more foreign investment, forcing the Canadian government to take its climate crisis problem more seriously.

Quantile relationship between globalization, financial development, economic growth, and carbon emissions: evidence from Vietnam

Environmental quality and economic activity have a strong relationship. Carbon emissions remain one of the world's most dangerous environmental issues. Both international and local governments are developing initiatives to address this problem. Capitalizing on the limitations of the existing literature, this article investigates the dynamic nexus of financial development, economic growth, and globalization on carbon dioxide emissions in Vietnam for 1990-2020 using the quantile-on-quantile regression. The findings unveil a positive feedback link between globalization and carbon dioxide emissions at the middle and high quantiles. In addition, there is a negative nexus between financial development and carbon emissions at most quantiles, while CO₂ emissions and economic growth have a positive association at all quantiles. More importantly, our empirical results also provide the bidirectional causality between financial development, economic growth, globalization, and carbon dioxide emissions in Vietnam at different quantile levels. The consistency of the outcomes uncovers that the findings are trustworthy and appropriate for guiding policy to reduce CO₂ emissions in Vietnam. Therefore, they can help policymakers understand how financial development and globalization can achieve sustainable economic growth and tackle environmental issues in this country.

An Asymmetric Nexus between Urbanization and Technological Innovation and Environmental Sustainability in Ethiopia and Egypt: What Is the Role of Renewable Energy?

The present study investigates the nexus between urbanization, technological innovation, renewable energy consumption, and environmental quality in Egypt and Ethiopia from 1980 to 2020 by employing symmetric and asymmetric frameworks. Referring to symmetric assessment, the coefficient of renewable energy consumption and technological innovation revealed a negative and statistically significant tie with environmental sustainability, valid for both proxies. Study findings suggest that clean energy integration and technological innovations in the economy decrease environmental adversity by reducing carbon emissions and ecological blames. Although the elasticity of urbanization has documented a positive and statistically significant connection with environmental sustainability, the conclusion is valid for both models. Second, in the long run, the asymmetric shocks of renewable energy consumption and technological innovation have exposed a negative and statistically significant tie to environmental sustainability, whereas in the case of urbanization, the asymmetric shocks unveiled a positive and statistically significant association to environmental sustainability. Third, the study revealed that the feedback hypothesis explains the relationship between technological innovation and environmental sustainability [TI←→EF] in Egypt and ecological footprint and urbanization in Egypt and Ethiopia. Moreover, unidirectional causality runs from ecological footprint to renewable energy consumption in Egypt and Ethiopia.