Trivariate modelling of the nexus between electricity consumption, urbanization and economic growth in Nigeria: fresh insights from Maki Cointegration and causality tests

Linking clean energy consumption, globalization, and financial development to the ecological footprint in a developing country: Insights from the novel dynamic ARDL simulation techniques

Developing countries have been facing economic difficulties for over three and a half decades due to numerous factors, including fossil fuel consumption and dwindling biocapacity. It is necessary to pinpoint the factors that may be culpable for poor environmental quality leading to a rising ecological footprint (EFP). This study explores the effect of clean energy, financial development (FDV), and globalization on the EFP in a developing country using the novel dynamic ARDL simulation techniques and the bootstrap causality test. The findings suggest that green energy has no meaningful impact on the EFP. Globalization and FDV significantly reduce the EFP by 0.25% and 0.08%, respectively. Besides, the findings confirm the existence of the EKC hypothesis. Furthermore, the causality results affirm a unidirectional causality from globalization and FDV to EFP, while economic growth drives globalization. Also, a one-way causality flows from globalization to FDV, just as FDV Granger causes green energy. In line with the findings, the study recommends that public policies focus on funding environmental-friendly technologies and green innovations. The funding must be on recently developed energy-saving technologies that can ensure complementarity between increased economic growth and environmental deterioration.

Time-varying impact of income and fossil fuel consumption on CO2 emissions in India

This paper investigates the time-varying effects of fossil fuel consumption on CO2 emissions in India utilizing the time-varying cointegration test, allowing for multivariate long-run time-varying cointegration parameter developed by Bierens and Martins (2010) and the time-varying vector autoregressive (TVP-VAR) model developed by Primiceri (2005). The long-run time-varying coefficients reveal that GDP has a positive and increasing impact on CO2 emissions over time. Moreover, results confirm the polluting effects of all fossil fuels. Besides, the TVP-VAR model findings also demonstrate that changes in income and fossil fuel consumption have a positive and significant impact on environmental degradation. Coal is found to be the most polluting fuel, followed by oil consumption. Furthermore, the time-varying responses show that increased natural gas consumption has the least influence when compared to other fossil fuels on CO2 emissions.

The impact of natural resource consumption on carbon emissions: evidence of a symmetric and asymmetric effect from Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan African countries are among mineral-rich developing countries strategically competing to guarantee sustainable economic development through resource exploration. The possibility of increasing the level of carbon emission due to using low-cost fuels and high pollutants during mineral resource extraction activities leading to environmental degradation continues to draw the attention of researchers and policy makers. This research aims to analyze the response of carbon emissions in the African continent to symmetric and asymmetric shocks on resource consumption, economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption. Following the Shin et al. (2014a) linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology in panel form, we construct symmetric and asymmetric panel ARDL-PMG model to evaluate both short- and long-run impacts of resource consumption on carbon dioxide emissions for a panel of 44 African countries over the period 2000-2019. The symmetric results show that the effect is not statistically significant despite natural resource consumption positively impacting carbon emission in the long and short runs. Energy consumption was found to affect environmental quality in the long and short runs adversely. Interestingly, economic growth was found to improve environmental quality in the long run significantly, and no significant impact was reported in the case of urbanization. However, the asymmetric results prove that a positive and negative shock to natural resource consumption contributes significantly to carbon emission, contrary to the insignificant impact established in the linear framework. The gradual growth in the manufacturing sector and an expansion in the transportation sector in Africa led to high demand and consumption of fossil fuels. This possibly accounts for the adverse effect of energy consumption on carbon emissions. Most African countries depend mainly on exploring natural resource endowment and agricultural activities to drive the growth of their economies. Due to the weak environmental regulatory frameworks in most African countries and public corruption, multinational companies (MNCs) in the extractive sector do not adhere to environmentally friendly activities. The majority of African countries are also battling illegal mining activities and illicit felling of trees, which may account for the positive relationship between natural resource rents and environmental quality reported. In terms of policy implications of the study, governments in Africa must preserve natural resources, use environmentally friendly and technologically advanced resource extraction methods, opt for green energy, and strictly apply environmental laws to promote environmental quality on the continent.

Role of environmentally related technologies and revenue taxes in environmental degradation in OECD countries

The purpose of this study is to validate the impact of foreign direct investment inflows (FDI inflows), trade openness (TO), environmentally related technologies (ERTs), environmentally related tax revenues (ERTRs), and economic growth (EG) on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions by employing a PMG (pooled mean group) estimator with a dataset of 36 OECD countries spanning from 1990 to 2020. Im-Pesaran-Shin, Fisher-type, and cross-sectional augmented Dicky-Fuller tests indicate that study variables are stationary at I (0) and I (I). Kao and Pedroni cointegration test results show that cointegration exists across regressors and regressands throughout the sample of OECD countries. The results of the Hausman test confirm that the PMG panel ARDL method can be employed. Empirical results of PMG demonstrate that ERTRs help to reduce CO₂ emissions, while FDI inflows, TO, ERTs, and EG are significant and positively related to environmental degradation. This study is an effort to fill the gap by exploring the role of ERTs and ERTRs in environmental degradation in selected OECD countries. The study findings support the relationship between CO₂ emissions, ERTs, and ERTRs. It has been determined that environmental technologies and revenue taxes are also drivers of environmental sustainability. The study provides policymakers with pertinent implications for promoting the development and adoption of green technologies. The findings suggest that imposing environmental taxes expedites the development of environmentally related technologies for reducing CO₂ emissions and promoting sustainable development in OECD countries, with potential applications in a wide range of countries, particularly as a basis for emerging countries to boost their energy transition timelines.

Drivers of green growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: can financial development promote environmentally sustainable economic growth?

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently declared its vision of turning carbon neutral by 2060. This declaration has motivated policymakers in this Arab nation to design policies that can green economic activities in Saudi Arabia so that environmentally sustainable growth can be ensured. Against this backdrop, this study models the independent and joint effects of financial development, globalization, and energy efficiency rates on green growth of the Saudi Arabian economy. In this regard, green growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is proxied by the difference between the nation's annual per capita growth rates of gross domestic product and carbon dioxide emission. Utilizing data from 1972 to 2018 and controlling for structural break-induced problems found in the data, the findings from the regression and causality analyses confirm the green growth-inhibiting impacts of financial development and trade globalization. In contrast, greater financial globalization is evidenced to drive green growth in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, more efficient uses of energy resources are found to not only directly boost green growth but also partially neutralize the long-run green growth-dampening impacts associated with the development of the financial sector. In addition, financial development and trade globalization are observed to jointly inhibit green growth attainment both in the short and long run. In line with these important findings, it is recommended that the government of Saudi Arabia conceptualizes new green growth policies so that the nation's annual per capita economic growth rate outpaces its annual per capita growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions.

Defining the role of renewable energy, economic growth, globalization, energy consumption, and population growth on PM2.5 concentration: evidence from South Asian countries

Rapid industrialization and economic development in South Asia (SA) caused serious air pollution-related issues. Air pollutants, particularly fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), have negative effects on health, instigating widespread concern. The current study is an attempt to analyze the impact of non-renewable energy (NRE), globalization (GLO), GDP, renewable energy (RE), and population (POP) on PM_2.5 concentration in SA from 1998 to 2020. In doing so, this study incorporated advanced and robust econometric techniques, i.e., Pesaran (Economet Rev 34(6-10), 1089-1117, 2015), to check the cross-sectional dependency, and the unit root presence checked through Cross-sectional Im, Pesaran, and Shin (CIPS) and Cross-sectionally Augmented Dickey-Fuller (CADF) unit root tests. Moreover, the long and short-run association among the selected variables was analyzed through Westerlund and Edgerton (Econ Lett 97(3), 185-190, 2007), cointegration test, and cross-sectional augmented ARDL (CS-ARDL). The empirical results indicate that the panel was cross-sectionally correlated, stationary at the first difference, and co-integrated in the long run. Moreover, the CS-ARDL model indicates a positive association between GDP and PM_2.5 concentration. Similarly, NRE and POP contribute significantly to increasing the PM_2.5 concentration in SA. However, RE and GLO play an important role to decrease the PM_2.5 concentration in SA.

Unbundling the dynamic impact of renewable energy and financial development on real per capita growth in African countries

Industrialization is considered imperative for growth but energy transitions are paramount for inclusive and green growth especially for a region with low financial sector development to spur investment in renewable energy. This study thus unbundles the interrelation among renewable energy production, financial development, and real per capita growth in 32 selected African countries from the period of 1996 to 2018. These countries are categorized on the basis of oil-rich and non-oil-rich as well as income levels. The study employs Pooled Mean Group, Augmented Mean Group, and Dynamic OLS, and key findings are established. The findings reveal a significantly positive renewable energy-economic growth relationship in all the different groups. Financial development is also found to improve economic performance in all categories except in non-oil-rich African countries. These findings empirically support the need for cleaner energy in the production process to spur inclusive and green growth amidst current global concern for climate change and global warning. This study thus recommends the restructuring of the energy pricing system, provision of long-term finance, adoption of risk mitigation instruments, and improved institutional framework for private participation in renewable energy infrastructural development for growth sustainability in Africa.

Military spending, financial development, and ecological footprint in a developing country: insights from bootstrap causality and Maki cointegration

Military spending is required for national sovereignty, but it comes at a cost. The ecological consequences of military activities remain insufficiently investigated, especially in developing countries, where military spending is on the rise due to terrorism and civil unrest created by different secessionists' groups. As such, this study has a maiden attempt to address this gap by exploring the effects of military spending on the ecological footprint (EF) using the bootstrap causality test and the Maki (2012) cointegration test under multiple structural breaks. The findings suggest that military spending increases the EF. Also, while energy consumption and economic growth degrade the environment, financial development enhances environmental wellbeing by reducing the ecological footprint. The causality results suggest a unidirectional causality from military spending to EF, while feedback causality exists between military spending and economic growth. The result of this study affirms the existence of destruction theory and also provides a better understanding of the links behind environmental degradation and is applicable for the design and implementation of environmental policies.

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.

Nexus among electricity consumption, foreign direct investment and aggregate economic activity towards Nigeria's economic performance: evidence from a trivariate causality model

It is evident that there is nexus among electricity consumption, foreign direct investment and aggregate economic activity. Unfortunately, the causal relationship among the three variables in Nigeria based on modern econometric methods, recent time-series data and ways that sufficiently cater for inflation and population growth has not been adequately investigated. This study, among other things, used a trivariate vector error correction model, autoregressive distributed lag bounds test for cointegration and Granger causality test to analyse the causal relationship among electricity consumption, foreign direct investment and aggregate economic activity based on time-series data from 1970 to 2018. The study found the presence of neutral causality between electricity consumption and aggregate economic activity in the short run as well as unidirectional causality from aggregate economic activity to electricity consumption in the long run. The study also found the presence of unidirectional causality from foreign direct investment to electricity consumption as well as neutral causality between foreign direct investment and aggregate economic activity in both the short run and the long run. It is therefore recommended that steps should be taken to adequately increase foreign direct investment and aggregate economic activity in ways that will guarantee an optimal increase in electricity consumption in Nigeria.

Exploring the existence of environmental Phillips curve in South Asian countries

Considering the economic activities that trigger alarming situations for the global atmosphere and ecology, this work probes the associations of unemployment (UNE), GDP, population growth (POP), renewable (REN), non-renewable energy use (ENE), and ecological footprints (EF) for South Asian countries. The annual data of 1991-2019 is analyzed for empirical results. This is the first study that employs panel as well as country-specific estimations for South Asian countries by utilizing the Pool mean group (PMG) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methods, respectively. The study also validates the environmental Phillips curve (EPC) for selected counties. The empirical evidence in all models confirms the positive effects of GDP, ENE, and POP on environmental dilapidation whereas REN and UNE reduce environmental deprivation. The findings confirm the presence of the EPC in South Asian countries. This work presents some important policy instruments for south Asian countries to reduce environmental pollution. In the efforts to improve air quality, these countries have increased unemployment. These nations have to raise the share of renewable energy to the total energy consumption. This will sustain their economies with an increasing employment ratio. At the same time, there is a need to revise the urban policies because the increasing population is also a contributing factor towards environmental degradation.

Modern and traditional renewable energy sources and CO2 emissions in emerging countries

Sustainable development goals aim to promote the implementation of environmental and energy policies towards establishing a sustainable environment. Considering that energy demand has steadily increased in emerging countries along with their rapid economic growth, controlling CO₂ emissions in these countries is crucial to achieving global environmental sustainability. An important concern is that renewable energy is generally classified into traditional and modern sources, and their relationships with environmental degradation can differ at the macroeconomic level. This study examines the link of the two renewable energy sources to CO₂ emissions by employing an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model for 31 emerging countries from 1990 to 2016. This analysis provides clear evidence of heterogeneity of the effects between traditional and modern renewable energy sources. Although CO₂ emissions have negative associations with both traditional and modern renewable energy sources in the long-term, they are more sensitive to modern renewable energy sources than to traditional ones. These results suggest that modern renewable energy sources are an effective target for environmental and energy policies in emerging countries. Policy regulators and international communities should strengthen domestic and international schemes that facilitate the transfer of green technology, particularly, that related to modern renewable energy sources, from advanced countries to emerging countries.

The role of electricity consumption, capital, labor force, carbon emissions on economic growth: implication for environmental sustainability targets in Nigeria

Despite consistent investments, grants, and other concessions in the power sector, nationwide power outages still remain an issue, even in 2020, disrupting business operations, contributing to huge recurrent expenses on generators and alternative sources of electricity in homes, businesses, and institutions. In this paper, we examine the role of electricity consumption on economic growth, while controlling for labor, capital, and carbon emissions, using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and the novel dynamic ARDL (DYNARDL) simulation analysis over the periods 1981-2019. Empirical results show that electricity consumption, capital, and labor exert positive inelastic impacts, while carbon emissions exert negative inelastic significant impact on economic growth within the period under investigation. From policy standpoint, we are of the opinion that stable supply and consumption of electricity can possibly boost economic growth and engender social stability in Nigeria. Thus, there is a need to strengthen the effectiveness of power sector and its energy generating agencies by ensuring periodic replacement of worn-out equipment in terms of adequately financed and efficient labor in order to enhance the contribution of the sector on economic growth, while in terms of environmental degradation, policy makers should work towards promotion of green economy for a sustainable economic growth and environment in Nigeria.

Re-evaluating the asymmetric economic policy uncertainty, conventional energy, and renewable energy consumption nexus for BRICS

Economic policy uncertainty has increased throughout the world since the previous few decades. Moreover, economic policy uncertainty significantly influences economic activities that may also produce a strong effect on energy consumption. The objective of the study is to investigate the effect of economic policy uncertainty on renewable and non-renewable energy consumption in the case of BRICS countries, for the period 1991-2019. The outcome of the panel NARDL-PMG modeling technique demonstrates that a positive shock in economic policy uncertainty exerts a negative impact on renewable energy consumption and positive impact on non-renewable energy consumption in the short-run and long-run. However, a negative shock in economic policy uncertainty has a positive impact on renewable energy consumption and negative impact on non-renewable energy consumption in the long run, while this effect becomes statistically insignificant in the short run. Numerical elements of long-run results infer that economic policy uncertainty is more influence on renewable energy compared to non-renewable energy consumption in BRICS in long run. On the basis of findings, the study suggests that the authorities should launch such programs that result in shrinking uncertainties linked with economic policy.

The joint and independent effects of financial development and renewable energy on energy consumption in the Trans-Pacific countries

While the independent effect is widely examined, the joint effect of financial development and renewable energy on energy consumption has largely been ignored in the current literature. Eleven members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) must balance the simultaneous requirements of supporting financial development, increasing renewable energy usage, and minimizing the adverse effects of energy consumption on the environment. Unlike previous studies, the paper examines the joint and independent effects of financial development and renewable energy on energy consumption for the CPTPP countries during the 1971-2019 period using the second-generation estimator analysis. Our variables are carefully selected based on solid hypotheses and empirical studies. Our results confirm an inverted U-shaped relationship between energy consumption and economic growth. We claim that financial development affects energy consumption depending on the level of renewable energy consumption. The bidirectional causality effect between financial development, energy consumption, and economic growth is also confirmed. Robustness checks have been conducted using sub-samples based on the per capita income threshold of $39,054. Policy implications have emerged based on these findings. An increase in renewable energy consumption can help these nations achieve the dual objectives: (i) to support financial development and to enhance economic growth and (ii) to reduce an adverse effect of financial development and economic growth on the environment.

Environmental Regulations and CO2 Mitigation for Sustainability: Panel Data Analysis (PMG, CCEMG) for BRICS Nations

The relationship between income and pollution is contested, yet wealth alone is insufficient to regulate emissions, which necessitates environmental regulations. Even if inadequate environmental laws may overcome market failures produced by pollution’s negative externality, a thorough examination of their function in pollution management is critical. This research takes a step forward in offering a fresh viewpoint on the function of environmental laws in pollution reduction for BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) nations to better understand the role of environmental regulations in CO2 emission mitigation. The research presented here uses panel data econometric methodologies to achieve this goal, using data from 1995 to 2018. In addition, to provide country-specific findings, the research employs a completely modified ordinary least squares estimator. Environmental laws provide a beneficial influence in reducing carbon emissions. According to the empirical findings, the present environmental regulation positively meets pollution reduction objectives in chosen nations. The environment Kuznets curve (EKC) between pollution and income is controlled by environmental restrictions. Climate change mitigation in BRICS nations is driven by strong environmental policies and economic growth.

Linking external debt and renewable energy to environmental sustainability in heavily indebted poor countries: new insights from advanced panel estimators

There are numerous studies on the linkage between renewable energy and environmental sustainability. These studies have tried to show how renewable energy is relevant in curbing the environmental difficulties associated with climate change. However, the role of external debt is seldom considered in the nexus. As such, this study applies advanced estimation techniques compatible with two core panel data issues (cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity) to investigate the role of external debt in the growth-energy-emissions relationship in thirty-three heavily indebted poor countries (HIPC) from 1990 to 2015. The findings of the study reveal that economic growth increases emissions thereby degrading the environment, while renewable energy ensures environmental sustainability by abating CO2 emissions. Further findings from the study suggest that external debt increases CO2 emissions in HIPC across the three estimators. The country-wise results reveal that economic growth deteriorates the environment in all the countries except in Burkina Faso, Congo, Mali, Mauritania, Nicaragua, and The Gambia. Also, the result reveals a bidirectional causal relationship between external debt and economic growth, CO2 emissions and economic growth, external debt and CO2 emissions, and renewable energy and economic growth. This study argues that the consumption of clean energy sources and strong institutional quality could help mitigate the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental quality and also curtail the negative effects of external debt on the environment. The limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.

Assessment of the role of trade and renewable energy consumption on consumption-based carbon emissions: evidence from the MINT economies

This research formulates a theoretical framework to investigate the impacts of trade on consumption-based carbon emissions (CCO₂) and also takes into account the influence of financial development and renewable energy use utilizing panel data for Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey (MINT) nations between 1990 and 2017. The study utilizes a series of second-generation techniques such as Westerlund cointegration, cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL), and augmented mean group (AMG) tests to capture the linkage between CCO₂ emissions and the independent variables. The study aims to answer the following questions: (a) can exports and imports determine CCO₂ emissions in the MINT nations? (b) Is there a long-run association among the variables under investigation? The results of the Westerlund cointegration reveal a long-run association among the variables. The CS-ARDL outcomes indicate that imports and economic growth increase CCO₂ emissions, while renewable energy use and exports decrease CCO₂ emissions. Moreover, the outcomes of the AMG test also give credence to the CS-ARDL results. Our key policy recommendations are that initiatives, rules, and regulatory mechanisms should be implemented that promote the transformation toward renewable energy.

Conflicts and ecological footprint in MENA countries: implications for sustainable terrestrial ecosystem

Conflicts are socio-political pressures that alter wellbeing, social structure, and economic sustenance. However, very limited studies have assessed the long-term impact of conflicts on environmental sustainability. This study investigates the role of internal and external conflicts on ecological footprint in the Middle East and North African countries (MENA) over the period 1995-2016. Here, we test whether the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid for MENA countries during the period of internal and external conflicts-characterized by energy disasters and deteriorating income levels. Using robust econometric tools based on 12 MENA countries, the results show that income growth has negative impact with evidence of inherent heterogeneity across quantile distribution of ecological footprint. However, the positive impact of the square term of income decreases ecological footprint, thus, confirming U-shaped relationship between income and environmental indicator across MENA countries. The results further show that excessive energy consumption is attributed to a rising level of urbanization, while increase in conflicts  stimulates environmental degradation. These findings are essential for effective conflict resolution and environmental policies across conflict-prone countries.

Environmental pollution and energy research and development: an Environmental Kuznets Curve model through quantile simulation approach

Energy research and development (R&D) and environmental sustainability is often referred to as two interrelated trends, especially in the current context of the 4^th industrial revolution. As a primary input of energy innovations, R&D in the energy sector constitutes a vital tool in addressing global environmental and energy challenges. In this frame, we observe the effects of disaggregated energy R&D on environmental pollution within the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework in thirteen developed countries over the period 2003-2018. By employing the panel quantile regression technique, we find an inverted U-shaped nexus between economic growth and carbon emissions only in higher carbon-emitting countries, thus, confirming the EKC hypothesis. However, the U-shaped nexus is more predominant in lower carbon-emitting countries. As such, we demonstrate that there is not any single dynamic in the relationship between economic growth and pollution as reported in previous studies. Contrary to expectations, we find that energy efficiency research and development is more effective in curbing carbon emissions compared to fossil fuels and renewable energy research and development. The empirical results indicate also that only energy efficiency R&D mitigates significantly the CO₂ emissions from the 50^th quantile up to 90^th quantile, although the magnitude of the negative sign is more pronounced (in absolute term) at the highest quantile (90th). In this light, our findings would guide policymakers in the establishment of sustainable energy research and development schemes that will allow the preservation of equilibrium for the environment while also promoting energy innovations.

Economic performance of Indonesia amidst CO2 emissions and agriculture: a time series analysis

To minimize the awful situation confronting the entire globe, the global warming danger has raised the intensity of consciousness from all areas of life. Therefore, the research assesses the impact of CO₂ emissions and energy use on economic performance and considers trade openness, urbanization, and agriculture in Indonesia utilizing data covering the period from 1965 to 2019. The current research employed the dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) tests to capture the long-run association between these economic indicators. Furthermore, the gradual shift and wavelet coherence tests are utilized to capture the direction of causality. The ARDL bound test discloses a long-run interconnection among the variables of interest. The outcomes of the ARDL and DOLS depict that CO₂ emissions, agriculture, energy use, and urbanization trigger economic growth. Moreover, the wavelet coherence test findings revealed a positive correlation between economic growth and urbanization, CO₂ emissions, agriculture, and energy consumption. Furthermore, there is evidence of a weak and positive correlation between economic growth and trade openness. The gradual shift causality test outcomes disclosed that economic growth can predict urbanization and energy consumption, while agriculture can predict economic growth. These outcomes have far-reaching significance for economic growth and the selected variables in Indonesia.

Exploring a new perspective of sustainable development drive through environmental Phillips curve in the case of the BRICST countries

Considering that the rigor of economic activities has widely been linked with the turbulent nature of the increasing global atmospheric and environmental hazards thus hampering environmental sustainability, it then presented a suggestive dilemma realizing that increasing unemployment, i.e., de-economizing human activities posit a desirable environmental quality effect. Given this backdrop, and employing the more recent estimation techniques, the current study probes the validity of the novel environmental Phillips curve (i.e., negative relationship between unemployment and environmental degradation) opined by Kashem and Rahman (Environ Sci Pollut Res 1-18, 2020). In this case, the panel of BRICST (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkey) economies for the selected data set over the experimental period 1992-2016 is analyzed. After using related approaches that are designed to account for probable country-specific factors, i.e., the cross-sectional dependence concern, the findings from the PMG-ARDL model affirmed the validity of the environmental Phillips curve for the BRICST countries. Thus, there is a significant trade-off between unemployment and environmental degradation. Moreover, this study concludes that renewable energy consumption improves the environmental quality, while conventional energy sources remained detrimental factors to environmental quality in the panel of the examined countries. Therefore, the study identified that the share of renewable energy in the energy mix should be escalated to improve environmental quality and maintain or improve the employment level, thus advancing the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the BRICST countries.

Can CO2 emissions and energy consumption determine the economic performance of South Korea? A time series analysis

Following the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs), which place emphasis on relevant concerns that encompass access to energy (SDG-7) and sustainable development (SDG-8), this research intends to re-examine the relationship between urbanization, CO₂ emissions, gross capital formation, energy use, and economic growth in South Korea, which has not yet been assessed using recent econometric techniques, based on data covering the period between 1965 and 2019. The present study utilized the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) methods, while the gradual shift and wavelet coherence techniques are utilized to determine the direction of the causality. The ARDL bounds test reveals a long-run linkage between the variables of interest. Empirical evidence shows that CO₂ emissions trigger economic growth. Thus, based on increasing environmental awareness across the globe, it is necessary to change the energy mix in South Korea to renewables to enable the use of sustainable energy sources and establish an environmentally sustainable ecosystem. Moreover, the energy-induced growth hypothesis is validated. This result is supported by the causality analysis, which shows a one-way causality running from energy consumption to GDP in South Korea. This suggests that South Korea cannot embark on conservative energy policies, as such actions will damage economic progress. Additionally, a unidirectional causality is seen from CO₂ emissions and energy consumption to economic growth. These findings have far-reaching consequences for GDP growth and macroeconomic indicators in South Korea.

Mitigating environmental degradation with institutional quality and foreign direct investment (FDI): new evidence from asymmetric approach

Chile is currently rated among the performing countries towards the achievement of the global goals of reducing carbon emission. It is on recorded that Chile as a country has moved from highly insufficient to insufficient and still working towards conforming to recommend the region of 2°C in quest of controlling climate change through carbon emission reduction. From this development, it is essential to investigate on the country's strategies in achieving this success and equally make recommendation for other countries to adopt Chile's strategy as a blue print in controlling carbon emission. To effectively do this and achieve the objective of this study, I adopt nonlinear and asymmetric approaches to have a combined (positive and negative) view of the reactions of the selected variable towards determining the impact of each variable towards curbing emission in Chile. Also, a careful selection of variable which includes economic growth (GDP per capita-Y), institutional quality, foreign direct investment (FDI), fossil fuels, and renewable energy consumption was undertaken in this study. The focus was on the interaction of institutional quality and FDI towards ascertainment of environment performance. Chile's quarterly data of 1996Q1 to 2018Q4 was utilized, and the following findings were made: positive and negative shocks to the economic growth, institutional quality, and renewable energy impacted favorably and negatively on Chile's environment through reduction and promotion of emission, respectively. In contrast, positive and negative shocks to FDI and fossil fuels impact both negatively on the Chile's environment through increase in carbon emission. So institutional quality is vital in controlling the negative impact from FDI and fossil fuels.

Exploring the multi-dimensional coordination relationship between population urbanization and land urbanization based on the MDCE model: A case study of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

The rapid development of urbanization has had a dramatic impact on the economy, society and environment in China. In this context, the coordination relationship between population urbanization and land urbanization is essential for achieving sustainable urbanization. Based on the statistical data from 2007-2017 in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YEB), this paper established the multi-dimensional coordination evaluation (MDCE) model by using the speed coordination evaluation (SCE) model, the level consistency evaluation (LCE) model, the entropy method and the space matching evaluation (SME) model to evaluate the coordination relationship between population urbanization and land urbanization from the speed-level-space perspective. The results showed that from 2007 to 2017: 1) the development speed of population urbanization and land urbanization in the YEB were more and more coordinated, and the speed of population urbanization lagged behind that of land urbanization. In addition, the overall development speed of the 11 provinces declined, and most of them were characterized by excessive development of land urbanization. 2) the development level of population urbanization and land urbanization in the YEB were all high, but the development level of population urbanization was lower than that of land urbanization. Further, the development level of the 11 provinces remained stable and high, and continuously improved. 3) the space matching of population urbanization and land urbanization in the YEB had a high degree of coordination, and the space matching degree of population urbanization was higher than that of land urbanization. Moreover, the space matching of most provinces in the region had declined, but the change was small. Finally, this paper proposes the policy recommendations on the coordinated development of population and land urbanization at the institutional, market and management levels to achieve coordinated and sustainable urbanization.

Estimating the macroeconomic determinants of total, renewable, and non-renewable energy demands in Bangladesh: the role of technological innovations

Bangladesh is well on course to become one of the leading emerging market economies in the world. Hence, it can be expected that the economic growth of Bangladesh would substantially increase over the next decade. This, in turn, is likely to boost the energy consumption levels of the nation whereby meeting the surge in the energy demand would be a crucial agenda of the government. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors that influence the nation's energy demand. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to evaluate the macroeconomic determinants of total, renewable, and non-renewable energy demands in Bangladesh between 1980 and 2014. Besides, the analysis is conducted for both primary energy and electricity consumption levels. The econometric methods used in this study controlled for the structural break issues in the data. The key findings, in a nutshell, show that economic growth and household consumption expenditure positively influence the overall primary energy and electricity demands in Bangladesh while income inequality exerts opposite effects. Besides, technological innovations are found to be reducing the total and non-renewable energy demand in Bangladesh while increasing the demand for renewable energy. On the other hand, positive oil price shocks are found to be ineffective in influencing the renewable energy demand but slightly reducing the non-renewable energy demand. Finally, the causality estimates portray the feedback hypothesis in almost all the cases to highlight the inter-relationships between economic growth and energy demand in Bangladesh. Hence, in line with these findings several critically important policy implications are suggested for managing the overall energy demand in Bangladesh.

Sustainability of Energy-Induced Growth Nexus in Brazil: Do Carbon Emissions and Urbanization Matter?

This study assesses the relationship between economic performance and environmental sustainability by taking into account the role of energy consumption, urbanization, and trade openness in Brazil by using data spanning from 1965 to 2019. The study is distinct from previously documented studies in literature in terms of scope for Brazil, where few entries have been recorded. The major objectives are to address the questions: (a) Is there a long-run connection between the variables under consideration? (b) Can CO2 emissions, trade openness, and energy consumption predict economic performance of Brazil? (c) What is the connection between economic growth and the independent variables at different frequencies and time-period? Furthermore, the study utilized dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS), fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), Maki Cointegration, and autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) to capture the long-run association between the variables of interest. Also, we used the Wavelet coherence and Gradual-shift causality tests to capture the causal linkage between economic growth and the regressors. The advantage of the wavelet coherence test is that it can capture causal linkage between series at different frequencies and periods. The outcome of both Maki cointegration and ARDL bounds testing to cointegration affirms the presence of long-run interaction among the parameters of interest. Furthermore, the outcomes of the DOLS and FMOLS revealed that energy consumption, CO2 emissions, and urbanization exert positive impacts on economic growth in Brazil while there is no significant connection between trade openness and economic growth. Moreover, Gradual shift causality test outcomes disclosed that urbanization, trade openness, CO2 emissions and energy usage can predict the economic performance of Brazil. The outcomes of the wavelet coherence test give credence to the FMOLS, DOLS, and Gradual shift causality tests.

Effect of Inadequate Electrification on Nigeria’s Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability

In this study, the impact of the electricity crisis on the economic growth of Nigeria is presented. Unlike other existing studies that checked the effect of electricity consumption on economic development or environmental sustainability for different countries, the present study will further present a techno-economic analysis of a proffered solution to the imminent electricity crisis. Time-series regression models are used to analyze the effect of electricity consumption on economic development and environmental sustainability while RETScreen professional software is used to perform a techno-economic analysis and determine the feasibility of a 500-kW microgrid Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system integrated for electricity generation. From the analysis results, a strong positive correlation effect is evident between electricity consumption and GNI, as well as a strong negative correlation between electricity consumption and gross domestic savings. Also, strong positive correlation effects are evident in the case of carbon emissions by buildings, by the power industry, and by other combustion industries on electricity consumption in Nigeria. Considering the net present value, internal rate of return and payback periods, the use of solar PV systems for electricity generation is feasible in the 12 different locations in Nigeria studied in this research. The most feasible area for solar PV installation is the northern part of Nigeria as Gombe and Kaduna recorded a simple PBP and an equity PBP are 6.3 years and 7.4 years respectively.