Can clean energy adoption and international trade contribute to the achievement of India’s 2070 carbon neutrality agenda? Evidence using quantile ARDL measures

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.

How do information and communication technology, human capital and renewable energy affect CO2 emission; New insights from BRI countries

If nations want to attain sustainable development with the exponential growth of information and communication technology (ICT) around the world, they must understand the connection between ICT and carbon emissions. Therefore, this study has used panel data from 64 ''Belt and Road Initiative economies between 2000 and 2021 while finding the impact of ICT, renewable energy consumption (REC), human capital (HC) and economic growth (EG) on CO2 emissions. This study employs the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator, Mean Group (MG) estimator and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality. The findings indicate that the use of ICT, HC and the REC are inversely related to CO2 emissions, whereas EG is positively associated to CO2 emissions and hence poses a danger to environmental sustainability. In addition, the interaction term of EG with ICT, REC and HC has negative impact on CO2 emissions in BRI economies. Intriguingly, the results reveal that ICT and CO2 emissions has inverted U-shape relationship in BRI economies. Furthermore, the causality results show that ICT, REC, and human capital are all cause and effect linkages that affect CO2 emissions in both directions. In order to reduce energy utilization and boost economic growth, the findings stress the importance of implementing cutting-edge ICT and REC in the industrial sector.

Role of technology management for carbon neutrality in Gulf economies: the role of social globalization and financial development

This study is founded on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2030, particularly SDGs 8, 11, 12, and 13, among others. Investigating the impact of nonrenewable energy, social globalization, financial development, and ICT on CO2 emissions in the Gulf nations, data from 1992 to 2019 was employed using advanced panel methodologies. Both linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag techniques, along with a panel causality approach, were utilized for a comprehensive analysis. These extensive investigations offer robust insights into the ecological sustainability dynamics within the Gulf nations. The empirical findings highlight that positive (negative) shifts in social globalization, economic growth, ICT, and nonrenewable energy correlate with an increase (decrease) in CO2 emissions, while positive (negative) shifts in financial development contribute to a decrease (increase) in CO2 emissions. These results emphasize the need for a policy framework aligned with the SDGs, advocating an inclusive policy framework tailored for the Gulf nations, aiming to drive progress towards achieving SDGs 7, 8, 9, 13, and 16.

Battling for net zero carbon: the position of governance and financial indicators

Africa, over the past years, has put various measures in place in the fight against carbon emissions. Achieving net zero carbon has caused the continent researchers to investigate various conditions required for a successful transition. Therefore, the political system cannot be left out since it plays a major role in decision-making. This study contributes to previous literature analyzing the empirical effect of financial development and governance quality on carbon emissions. The study is focused on 52 African countries with data from 1996 to 2021. Panel quantile and generalized method of moments are used for the analysis. The result indicates that financial development contributes to environmental degradation, government effectiveness, rule of law, and political stability which promote environmental pollution; however, control of corruption, renewable energy, and economic growth promote ecological sustainability. According to the aforementioned, it is crucial for governments to include financial development plans in national environmental strategies, particularly for those in African nations. Furthermore, governments should put restrictions on trade to control the trade of high-carbon technologies.

The determinants of carbon emissions in Belt and Road Initiative countries: analyzing the interactive role of information and communication technologies

Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries have benefited greatly from the intelligent growth of the green economy made possible by the widespread adoption of internet and mobile phone technologies. In addition, renewable energy consumption endorses sustainable development. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine if the use of information and communication technology (ICT) and renewable energy consumption has an effect on sustainable development in BRI countries, while using the augmented mean group (AMG) model, AMG robustness test, and panel Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test to get robust results. According to the results of the study, the information and communication technology, renewable consumption, human capital, and urbanization reduces the emission of carbon dioxide emission in BRI countries while economic growth enhances the CO2 emission. Therefore, it is recommended that BRI countries increase their inter-regional cooperation in order to boost investment in renewable energy, effectively use the spillover effect of technology and knowledge, and end the resource curse in environmental policy. Based on the results, the authors of this paper propose a number of important steps toward environmental sustainability.

Does greenwashing obstruct sustainable environmental technologies and green financing from promoting environmental sustainability? Analytical evidence from the Indian economy

This study aims at assessing the impacts of green growth, in the form of adopting sustainable energy technologies and financing green projects, on environmental conditions in India. Thus, this study is important from the point of view of India's efforts in formulating strategies linked with achieving the environmental development targets enlisted under United Nations SDG‐13 declaration. In this regard, it is assumed that strategies targeted at establishing green growth in India can fail in the presence of greenwashing. To test this hypothesis, a newly introduced econometric technique, namely the Augmented‐ARDL techniques of estimation is used. Accordingly, the results obtained firstly suggest the existence of long‐run and cointegrated relationship exists between the variables of choice. Secondly, it is very much striking to find out that the the there is an inverse relationship between use of sustainable environmental technologies and environmental sustainability across India. Hence, this particular finding points to the possibility of stimulating geenwashing in the context of technology adoption in order to improve the state of the environment in India. Lastly, financing of green projects is seen to promote environmental sustainability which, in turn, affirms the absence of greenwashing in the context of green financing initiatives.

A bibliometric analysis of carbon neutrality: Research hotspots and future directions

Global attention has shifted in recent years to climate change and global warming. The international community has set the objective of carbon neutrality to address the climate crisis. Carbon neutrality has drawn significant attention as a crucial step in the fight against climate change, with individual nations having established their carbon neutrality targets. This paper aims to use bibliometric analysis to investigate research hotspots and trends in carbon neutrality research, and accesses the literature through the Web of Science (WoS) core database and undertakes an in-depth examination of 909 publications linked to carbon neutrality around the world using Vosviewer and Bibliometrix software. According to the findings, the number of carbon neutrality publications has increased dramatically in recent years. There are also notable differences in carbon neutrality research across countries and regions. China and the US are the primary drivers and leaders of carbon neutrality research, and developing countries have relatively little carbon neutrality research. Research has concentrated on carbon neutrality's practical, technical, policy, and economic aspects, as well as renewable energy sources, carbon conversion technologies, and carbon capture and storage technologies are also research hotspots. The paper also outlines opportunities for the advancement of carbon neutrality research in the future, including how it might be further integrated with Artificial intelligence (AI) and the metaverse, and how to attack the difficulties and uncertainties faced by the post-epidemic rebound. This study aids in understanding the current state of the field of carbon neutrality research and can be used to guide future studies.

Role of natural gas and nuclear energy consumption in fostering environmental sustainability in India

This paper investigates the role of nuclear energy in promoting ecological sustainability in India, focusing on three ecological indicators: ecological footprint (EF), CO2 emissions (CO2), and load capacity factor (LF). In addition to nuclear energy, the study considers the influence of gas consumption and other drivers of ecological sustainability using data spanning from 1970 to 2018. The analysis also takes into account the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on the model, employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and frequency domain causality approaches to assess the relationships. Unlike previous studies, this research evaluates both the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and load capacity curve (LCC) hypotheses. The ARDL results support the validity of both the EKC and LCC hypotheses in the Indian context. Furthermore, the findings reveal that nuclear energy and human capital contribute positively to ecological quality, while gas consumption and economic growth have a negative impact on ecological sustainability. The study also highlights the increasing effect of the 2008 global financial crisis on ecological sustainability. Additionally, the causality analysis demonstrates that nuclear energy, human capital, gas consumption, and economic growth can serve as predictors of long-term ecological sustainability in India. Based on these findings, the research presents policy recommendations that can guide efforts towards achieving SDGs 7 and 13.

Investigating the nexus between trade policy uncertainty and environmental quality in the USA: empirical evidence from aggregate and disaggregate level analysis

Worldwide, environmental sustainability is a hot topic, particularly in industrialized countries due to their higher emission intensity. Environmental conservation and equitable economic growth have been prioritized in economic debate and policy development. Over the past three decades, the USA's emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂e) have risen exponentially, as trade policy uncertainty (TPU). In this circumstance, this paper aims to contribute to the existing literature by exploring the effect of TPU on environmental quality by controlling the energy consumption, economic growth, and population in the USA over the period 1985M1 to 2022M3 employing the augmented ARDL and NARDL procedures in the presence of structural breaks. From our analysis, the results revealed that TPU affects negatively CO₂e in the residential sector, and negative changes in TPU positively affect CO₂e in the commercial sector both in the long and short run. On the other side, the outcomes show that energy consumption is a crucial key determinant factor in environmental degradation at the aggregate level and in all sectors. Furthermore, our findings clarify that economic growth upsurges the CO₂e at the aggregate level precisely in the industrial and residential sectors. Juxtaposing, in the long run, the results indicate that population growth could make additional pressure on environmental quality at the aggregate level, especially in commercial, power generation, and residential sectors. Accordingly, it is clear from our results that the regulations put in place to encourage Americans to buy locally created goods instead of those imported, especially in light of the high levels of TPU, maybe the best option to decrease the long-term impact of international trade on the environment to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Analyzing the role of green innovation and public-private partnerships in achieving sustainable development goals: a novel policy framework

The environment's quality is the cornerstone for every country's long-term growth. Pakistan, like other countries, is embracing modern, efficient technologies to build a sustainable environment following the SDGs. In this situation, policymakers and experts have emphasized more on environmental factors. To do this, the study explores the impact of green innovation (GI), public-private partnerships in energy (PPP), energy use (EU), economic development (ED), and power prices (PP) on CO2 emissions in Pakistan from 1980 to 2019. The research uses a novel econometric technique for estimating environmental factors, notably the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag simulations (ARDLS) model and spectral frequency domain causality (SFDC), to examine positive and negative shocks for the prediction of the short-, medium-, and long-run impact of selected determinants, respectively. Additionally, robustness checks were performed using the fully modified OLS (FMOLS), dynamic OLS (DOLS), and canonical cointegrating regression (CCR) estimations. The short and long-term empirical findings indicate that GI lowers emissions; nevertheless, PPP, EU, and ED have a significant impact on emissions in the short run, while the EU increases emissions in the long run. PP, on the other hand, reduces emissions both short and long-term. The FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR estimations indicate significant discoveries. Additionally, the SFDC finding supports the long, medium, and short-term causation theories. This research advocates green innovation for a greener manufacturing process and PPP investment in renewable energy. In addition, the Pakistani government considers these variables while designing a comprehensive protracted environmental plan to meet SDGs 7 and 13.

Can financial globalization and good governance help turning emerging economies carbon neutral? Evidence from members of the BRICS-T

Since turning carbon neutral is regarded as a major macroeconomic agenda worldwide, this study examines whether financial globalization and good governance can help Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, and Turkey in achieving carbon neutrality. Considering the period of analysis from 2000 to 2020 and utilizing robust econometric methods, it is observed that the environmental consequences vary across different components of financial globalization. In particular, the results validate the pollution haven hypothesis by confirming the carbon emission-boosting effect of de facto financial globalization indicators. In contrast, the pollution halo effect hypothesis is verified by the finding of the carbon emission-abating effect of de jure financial globalization indicators. Besides, promoting good governance is evidenced to impose carbon emission-mitigating impact in the long-run. The findings also authenticate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for the emerging countries of concern. Finally, for both the short and long runs, it is found that the non-renewable to renewable energy transition contributes to lower discharges of carbon dioxide, while urbanization results in the amplification of the carbon emission figures. Considering these critically important findings, it is necessary for these countries to impose restrictions on the influx of unclean foreign direct investment, facilitate and ease the investment process for foreign investors for investing in environment-friendly projects, promote good governance, and adopt green economic growth and sustainable urbanization policies by developing their respective renewable energy sectors.

Investigating the nexus between carbonization and industrialization under Kaya's identity: findings from novel multivariate quantile on quantile regression approach

Developing nations aim to industrialize and grow sustainably often ignoring the environmental consequences. However, few empirical studies have looked at the influence of industrialization-driven economic transition on carbon footprint in developing nations using a non-parametric approach. In this milieu, on the ground of Kaya's identity and the novel multivariate quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) (extension of Sim and Zhou's (2015) bivariate QQR model), the present research studies the impact of industrial value-added (IGVA), population, energy intensity, and carbon intensity on CO₂ emissions in India. This study is one of the first in the literature to evaluate the industrialization-carbonization nexus in the context of Kaya's identity for the Indian economy utilizing an innovative multivariate QQR approach, which makes a methodological and empirical addition to the literature. The outcomes of the multivariate QQR technique demonstrate that economic and environmental development requires continual long-run strategies. The empirical findings revealed that there is no authentication that India's carbon emissions increased due to its industrialization, which exhibited that IGVA has a negative and significant connection with CO₂ emissions. In some quantiles, population size positively impacts CO₂ emissions. On the other hand, carbonization in the Indian economy is asymmetrically affected by GDP per capita and energy and carbon intensity. The quantile Granger causality study further supported the aforementioned results. The current analysis also offers policy suggestions for environmentally friendly sustainable economic growth and to achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) of India.