What new technology means for the energy demand in China? A sustainable development perspective

Effect of Crystal Morphology on Electrochemical Performances of IRH-2 and IRH-2/PANI Composite for Supercapacitor Electrodes

In the context of recent progress in designing metal-organic framework (MOF)-based supercapacitor electrodes, we report herein the successful growth of two different crystal morphologies of a cerium-based MOF, octahedral crystals named IRH-2-O and elongated square-bipyramidal crystals named IRH-2-ESBP (IRH = Institute de Recherche sur l'Hydrogène). The identical crystal structure of both materials was confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Furthermore, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray mapping analysis corroborated this fact and showed the crystal shape variation versus the surface composition of synthesized materials. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and PXRD were used to confirm the purity of pristine MOFs as well as desired MOF//PANI composites. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy highlighted the effect of crystal shape on the electrochemical performance of IRH-2 MOFs; the specific capacitance tripled from 43.1 F·g-1 for IRH-2-O to 125.57 F·g-1 for IRH-2-ESBP at 5 mV·s-1. The cycling stability was notably ameliorated from 7 K for IRH-2-O to 20 K for IRH-2-ESBP. Regarding the composites, the cell voltage was notably ameliorated from 1.8 to 1.95 V. However, the electrochemical performance of IRH-2/PANI composites was drastically decreased due to instability in the acidic media. To the best of our knowledge, our work is the first work that related the MOF crystal shape and the electrochemical performance.

Financial fragility, human resource management, and transition to renewable energy in Asian economies: a comparative analysis

The main hurdle in deploying renewable energy projects is the high initial cost, making it difficult for businesses and individuals to afford it. The fragility of the financial sector and human resource management further slows the pace of renewable energy demand. Therefore, we aim to investigate the impact of financial fragility and human resource management on renewable energy consumption over time horizon 1997-2020. To that end, the analysis employed the ARDL-PMG model. For Asia as a whole and all other sub-regions, including South East Asia, East Asia, South Asia, and Western Asia, the estimates for bank non-performing loans are notably negative. In general, these findings imply that a rise in financial fragility significantly reduces renewable energy consumption in the long run. In the short run, the estimates attached to both bank non-performing loans and bank costs are negatively significant in Asia and sub-regions of Western Asia only. The results for the human resources show that it exerts a significant and positive influence on renewable energy demand in Asia as a whole, South Asia, East Asia, and Western Asia. The estimates attached to human resources are statistically insignificant in all models in the short run. In the end, some important public strategies and their implementations have been discussed.

Energy consumption and innovation-environmental degradation nexus in BRICS countries: new evidence from NARDL approach using carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions

The BRICS nations-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-have grown significantly in importance over the past few decades, playing a vital role in the development and growth of the global economy. This expansion has not been without cost, either, since these countries' concern over environmental deterioration has risen sharply. Both researchers and decision-makers have focused a lot of attention on the connection between economic growth and ecological sustainability. By using nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach, the complex relationships were analyzed between important economic indicators-such as gross domestic product (GDP), ecological innovations (EI), energy consumption (ENC), institutional performance (IP), and trade openness (TOP)-and their effect on carbon emissions and nitrous oxide emissions in the BRICS countries from 1990 to 2021, this study seeks to contribute to this important dialog. Principal component analysis is formed for technological innovations and institutional performance using six (ICT service exports as a percentage of service exports, computer communications as a percentage of commercial service exports, fixed telephone subscriptions per 100 people, internet users as a percentage of the population, number of patent applications, and R&D expenditures as a percentage of GDP) and twelve (government stability, investment profile, socioeconomic conditions, internal conflict, external conflict, military in politics, control of corruption, religious tensions, ethnic tensions, law and order, bureaucracy quality, and democratic accountability) distinct indicators, respectively. The results of nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag estimation show that increase in economic growth would increase carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions. The positive and negative shocks in trade openness have positive and significant impact on carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions in BRICS countries. Furthermore, the positive shock energy consumptions have positive and significant effect on Brazil and India when carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions are used. However, EKC exists in BRICS countries when carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide emissions are used. According to long-term estimation, energy consumption and technological innovations in the BRICS countries show a strong and adverse link with nitrous oxide and a favorable relationship with carbon dioxide emissions. In the long run, environmental indicators are seen to have a major and unfavorable impact in BRICS nations. Finally, it is proposed that BRICS nations can assure environmental sustainability if they support creative activities, enhance their institutions, and support free trade policies.

Effect of green finance reform and innovation pilot zone on improving environmental pollution: an empirical evidence from Chinese cities

Under the strategic deployment of dual carbon goals, China has entered the stage of high-quality development of low-carbon economic transformation. Green finance is an important tool to provide financing support for the development of green low-carbon projects and prevent environmental and climate financial risks. Whether and how it can help the implementation of the dual carbon goals is worth pondering and studying. Based on this background, this study considers the green finance reform and innovation pilot policy zone jointly issued by the Central People's Bank of China, National Development, and Reform Commission in 2017 as a natural experiment. Based on the panel data of 288 cities nationwide from 2010 to 2019, the effect of emission reduction is estimated using the PSM-DID method. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The green finance policy has effectively improved the city's environmental quality, and the pilot effect of green finance has a certain lag on SO₂ emissions and industrial smoke (dust) emissions; (2) the mechanism inspection shows that the policy mechanism has promoted the technological innovation level, sewage treatment capacity, and garbage harmless treatment capacity of the pilot area to a certain extent; and (3) the impact of green finance policy on environmental quality has regional and industrial characteristics heterogeneity. The green finance pilot policy in eastern and central regions will inhibit SO₂ emissions, but the emission reduction effect in western regions is not significant; The implementation of the pilot policy of the green financial reform and innovation pilot zone has significantly reduced the sulfur dioxide emissions of the old industrial base cities, but the effect of the policy on non-old industrial bases is not obvious. The research conclusion has important enlightenment significance for further improving the construction of financial system, promoting the green transformation of regional industry, and improving the quality of urban environment.

Information and communication technology, institutional quality, and environmental sustainability in ASEAN countries

Concerns regarding climate change pollution have remained critical in achieving sustainable development goals. However, countries are still having difficulty reducing environmental deterioration, requiring substantial attention. Hence, this study evaluates the effect of information and communication technology (ICT), institutional quality, economic growth, and energy consumption on ecological footprint under the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) framework in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries from 1990 to 2018. Moreover, this study also checks the impact of an interaction term (ICT and institutional quality) on ecological footprint. We utilized cross-section dependence, cross-section unit root, and Westerlund's cointegration tests for the econometric investigation to check cross-section dependence, stationarity, and cointegration among parameters. For long and short run estimation, we used pooled mean group (PMG) estimator. PMG outcomes demonstrate that the ICT and institutional quality clean the environment by mitigating the ecological footprint. Further, the joint impact of ICT and institutional quality also moderate environmental degradation. Moreover, economic growth and energy consumption increase the ecological footprint. In addition, empirical outcomes also support the presence of the EKC hypothesis in ASEAN countries. The empirical outcomes suggest that environmental sustainability's sustainable development goal can be achieved through ICT innovation and diffusion and by improving the intuitional quality framework.

Realizing the Sustainable Development Goals through technological innovation: juxtaposing the economic and environmental effects of financial development and energy use

The BRICS comprise of group of emerging market economies which are committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals agenda of the United Nations by the end of the year 2030. In this regard, it is critically important for these nations to sustain their annual rise in their economic growth rates while simultaneously declining the rate of discharge of carbon dioxide emissions. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate how financial development, greater primary energy consumption, and technological innovation affect the prospects of the BRICS nations in achieving economic and environmental sustainability. Considering the period from 1990 to 2020 and utilizing methods that are robust to working with cross-sectionally dependent, heterogeneous, and endogenous panel data, the key analytical findings derived in this study reveal that higher levels of financial development, primary energy consumption, and technological innovation boost the per capita economic growth rates of the BRICS nations. Besides, technological innovation also moderates the financial development-economic growth and the primary energy consumption-economic growth nexuses by jointly boosting economic growth rates with these two macroeconomic variables. On the other hand, financial development and higher primary energy consumption are seen to boost the annual per capita carbon dioxide emission growth in these emerging nations, while technological innovation is observed to do the opposite. Furthermore, technological innovation is witnessed to moderate the nexus between energy use and economic growth to further reduce the emission growth rate in the BRICS nations. Accordingly, a set of policies are recommended to the concerned governments in order to enable the BRICS nations to attain the Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

Does the construction of innovative cities promote urban green innovation?

As a typical example of an innovative governance environment, innovative city has become the focus of political and academic circles. Discussing the green innovation effect of this policy is beneficial in providing decision support for enhancing urban green innovation capability and solving the dilemma of urban resources. Based on data from 241 cities in China from 2005 to 2017, this paper takes innovative city construction as a "quasi-natural experiment" and uses the difference-in-differences method to empirically study the impact of China's innovative city construction on urban green innovation. The results show that innovative urban construction: has a positive effect on improving urban green innovation, and that this effect will gradually increase with time; promotes urban green innovation by expanding the scope of technology application, improving the efficiency of resource allocation and promoting the adjustment of industrial structure; and presents heterogeneity in cities' location, size and hierarchy. Finally, this paper proposes that the government should promote innovative policies in an orderly manner on the basis of following the principle of adapting measures to local conditions, as well as incorporating green innovation performance into the evaluation system for innovative city construction.

Is there a trade-off between ICTs and ecological systems in Africa? Evidence from heterogeneous panel methods robust to cross-sectional dependence

Among the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), increasing infrastructure resilience (SDG₉) and combating climate change and its impacts (SDG₁₃) have been vital goals. Growing evidence supports the presence of a trade-off between expanding information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure and maintaining the quality of the environment. Based on an ICT index and the ecological footprint, the present study reinvestigated the influence of ICT on environmental quality for a sample of African countries, where ICT services have substantially increased over the past decades. The study employed cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) and common correlated effects estimator (CCEMG) techniques on data representing 47 African economies between 1990 and 2017. The results of both methods were consistent and indicated an inverted U-shaped relationship between ICT infrastructure and environmental quality in the long and short run. The findings suggested that the expansion of ICT infrastructure could simultaneously enable African nations to achieve SDG13 and SDG9.

Have international remittance inflows degraded environmental quality? A carbon emission mitigation analysis for Ghana

Despite the considerable contributions of remittances to households and economic advancements, their environmental implications have received little attention in empirical research. This study was, therefore, conducted to help fill that gap, using Ghana as an evidence. In achieving the above goal, robust econometric methods that control for endogeneity, heteroscedasticity and serial correlation among others, were engaged for the analysis. From the results, the studied variables were first-differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. The elasticities of the predictors were explored via the FMOLS, DOLS and CCR estimators, and from the results, remittance inflows worsened the ecological quality in Ghana through high CO2 emissions. Also, population growth and energy utilization were not friendly to the country's environment; however, technological innovations improved environmental quality in the nation via low CO2 effusions. The VECM was employed to examine the path of causalities amidst the series, and from the results, there were bidirectional causalities between remittance inflows and CO2 emissions and between population growth and CO2 emanations. Also, a causation from energy utilization to CO2 effluents was discovered; however, there was no causality between technological innovations and CO2 exudates in the country. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that, authorities should enact regulations to control the activities of polluting industries that are being financed by remittances. Also, households and individuals should minimize their use of remittances to finance carbon-intensive items, like automobiles and air-conditioners among others, that add to environmental pollution in the country.

Does ICT diffusion lead to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in emerging Asian economies?

The role of information and communication technology (ICT) is imperative in the transformation of the world. ICT is directly affecting all the sectors of the whole economy. Thus, the present study is determined to investigate the effect of ICT on energy efficiency and environmental sustainability in emerging Asian economies from 1990 to 2019. The panel augmented autoregressive distributed lag-pooled mean group approach has been used for empirical investigation. Two separate models have been designed to attain the empirical consensus. ICT is measured through two proxies namely broadband subscriptions (internet) and mobile cellular subscriptions (mobile). Results show that internet and mobile upsurge the energy efficiency in the long run. However, internet and mobile have a reducing impact on carbon emissions in the long run. While FDI enhances energy efficiency and reduces carbon emissions inferring that environmental efficiency improves in the long run. The study suggests that policymakers must be aware of the impact of ICT on energy efficiency and environmental quality and regulate their manufacturers to enable the amalgamation of ICT into users' routines.

The effects of Environmental Kuznets Curve toward environmental pollution, energy consumption on sustainable economic growth through moderate role of technological innovation

South Asia is a hub for encompassing air contamination, with 37 of the top tiers of the 40 most contaminated urban communities around the globe (IQAIR, 2020). From this perspective, this research aims to explore the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve while controlling for the impacts of technological innovation and energy consumption on the sustainable economic growth-environmental pollution nexus in the backdrop of South Asian economies by using panel dataset from 1998 to 2018. Therefore, this analysis adopts a fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) approach for examination, which affirms the EKC hypothesis existence, suggesting that the environment in South Asia is deteriorating while technological innovations have moderated the impact. Moreover, the empirical findings indicate that energy consumption as well as technological innovations both have a significant positive impact on the CO₂ emanations, which harms biodiversity.

The impact of coal combustion, nitrous oxide emissions, and traffic emissions on COVID-19 cases: a Markov-switching approach

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) spread to more than 200 countries with a current case fatality ratio (CFR) of more than 2% globally. The concentration of air pollutants is considered a critical factor responsible for transmitting coronavirus disease among the masses. The photochemical process and coal combustions create respiratory disorders that lead to coronavirus disease. Based on the crucial fact, the study evaluated the impact of nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions, coal combustion, and traffic emissions on COVID-19 cases in a panel of 39 most affected countries of the world. These three air pollution factors are considered to form a lethal smog that negatively affects the patient's respiratory system, leading to increased susceptibility to coronavirus worldwide. The study used the Markov two-step switching regime regression model for obtaining parameter estimates. In contrast, an innovation accounting matrix is used to assess smog factors' intensity on possibly increasing coronavirus cases over time. The results show that N₂O emissions, coal combustion, and traffic emissions increase COVID-19 cases in regime-1. On the other hand, N2O emissions significantly increase coronavirus cases in regime-2. The innovation accounting matrix shows that N2O emissions would likely have a more significant share of increasing coronavirus cases with a variance of 33.902%, followed by coal combustion (i.e., 6.643%) and traffic emissions (i.e., 2.008%) over the time horizon. The study concludes that air quality levels should be maintained through stringent environmental policies, such as carbon pricing, sustainable urban planning, green technology advancement, renewable fuels, and pollution less accessible vehicles. All these measures would likely decrease coronavirus cases worldwide.

Financial development, oil resources, and environmental degradation in pandemic recession: to go down in flames

The novel coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) is a deadly disease that increases global healthcare sufferings. Further, it affects the financial and natural resource market simultaneously, as both are considered complementary goods. The volatility in the oil prices deteriorates the global financial market to substantiate the "financial resource (oil) curse" hypothesis primarily filled with earlier studies. In contrast, this study moved forward and extended the given relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic in a panel of 81 different countries. The study's main objective is to examine the volatility in the domestic credit provided to the private sector due to oil shocks and the COVID-19 pandemic across countries. The study is essential to assess the healthcare vulnerability in the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the damage of financial stability, causing deterioration in the oil rents to affect the global sustainability agenda. The study employed statistical techniques to get sound inferences of the parameter estimates, including robust least squares regression, seemingly unrelated regression, and innovation accounting matrix to get a variable estimate at the level and inter-temporal framework. The results confirmed the U-shaped relationship between oil rents and financial development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, it verifies the "financial resource (oil) curse" hypothesis at the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Later down, it supports the capital market when economies are resuming their economic activities and maintaining the SOPs to restrain coronavirus at a global scale. The qualitative assessment confirmed the negative effect of financial development and oil shocks on environmental quality during the pandemic crisis. The innovation accounting matrix shows that the COVID-19 pandemic will primarily be the main factor that intervenes in the relationship between oil rents and financial development, which proceed towards the "resource curse" hypothesis during the following years' time period. Therefore, the need for long-term economic policies is highly desirable to support the financial and resource market under the suggested guidelines of restraining coronavirus worldwide.

Financial Development and Environmental Regulations: The Two Pillars of Green Transformation in China

Awareness of the influence of environmental regulations and financial development on green technological progress by Chinese enterprises will help to promote the green transformation of China’s economy, thereby comprehensively enhancing the quality and competitiveness of its economic development. This paper constructs a theoretical framework to analyze environmental regulation, financial development, and green technological progress and studies the relationship among these three indicators using 2004–2018 data from Shandong province. The results show that environmental regulations and financial development both play roles in promoting green technological progress, but as environmental regulation becomes stronger, the effects of finance on green technological progress begin to differ across regions. The results partially verify the applicability of the Porter hypothesis in China, providing a reference for all levels of government to formulate scientific and reasonable environmental rules and policies.

Environmental policy stringency, related technological change and emissions inventory in 20 OECD countries

Since the parties to Paris agreement ink ambitious emissions reduction targets, there is a growing debate - whether the existing environmental regulations have potential to spur enough technological base that could help to achieve the targets by 2030? Thus, this study attempts to empirically investigate the role of stringent environmental regulations towards environmentally friendly technological innovation, carbon emissions, GDP, exports and imports for 20 OECD countries. The results find long-run equilibrium relationship among the variables and suggest that the current environmental regulations encourage green innovation in the panel countries. Furthermore, stringent environmental policies couple with environmentally friendly innovation are impetus to sustainable development. Exports and imports have little to contribute green innovation but, exports reduce carbon emissions in the short-run only and imports are emissions intensive. The study suggests that the OECD countries need to revisit trade related environmental regulations.

Examination of a coupling coordination relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment: a case study in Qingdao, China

A better understanding of the relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment is necessary to guide sustainable urban development and formulate environmental policies. In this study, the city of Qingdao was taken as an example. We evaluated the quantitative evolution of the relationship between urbanization and the eco-environment development from 2000 to 2018 by establishing the comprehensive index system and applying it to the coupling coordination model. Results showed the following: (1) The economic urbanization and eco-environment states offer the greatest contribution to the urbanization and eco-environment systems, respectively. (2) The coupling coordination relationship between urbanization and eco-environment conforms to an S-shaped curve, and the two systems have gradually moved from a "seriously uncoordinated and urbanization lag" stage at the beginning into a "good coordination and eco-environment lag" stage by the end of the research period. (3) Finally, the economic urbanization and response subsystems are essential determinants in the coupling relationship between urbanization and eco-environment. The research results can help the government better understand the complex coupling relationship and then formulate sustainable urbanization development strategies to better balance urbanization and eco-environmental protection.

Analysis of asymmetries in the nexus among clean energy and environmental quality in Pakistan

This study examines the short-run and long-run asymmetric effects of clean energy consumption on carbon emission in Pakistan, over the annual time period 1975-2018, by using a non-linear ARDL approach. The findings of the study confirm the existence of asymmetries, in the nexus between the clean energy consumption and carbon emission in the short and long run. The findings of non-linear model confirm that carbon emission responded contrary to positive shocks of energy variables as compared with their negative shocks. Asymmetric findings recommend that positive and negative shocks of the alternative and nuclear energy and combustible and waste energy have affected differently. Although, short- and long-run results suggest an insignificant positive and negative relationship between electric power consumption and carbon emissions. Therefore, more taxation of non-renewable energy and clean energy supports are suggested for the Pakistan economy. We concluded that Pakistan has potential in clean energy which will improve environmental quality in the near future.

Achieving environmental sustainability through information technology: "Digital Pakistan" initiative for green development

The importance of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in environmental resource management opens a new debate for the policy makers in order to promote green technologies to mitigate high mass carbon emissions across the globe. "Digital Pakistan" initiative is taken by the government that aimed to use technology for country's social welfare, which further be enhance for achieving environmental sustainability over a time horizon. This study examined the long-run relationship between ICTs, energy demand, and carbon emissions in a context of Pakistan by using a time series data from 1975 to 2017. The results show that energy demand increases economic growth in the short-run while it decreases economic growth in the long-run. The country's economic growth substantially increases along with an increase in trade openness and mobile-telephone subscription (ICTs) in the short-run; however, the result is changed in the long-run due to increase in carbon emissions in a given time period. The results provoke that continued economic growth and ICT penetration substantially decreases energy demand, whereas urbanization increases energy demand in a country. The results show that variations in emissions associated with proportionate changes in ICTs penetration, economic growth, energy demand, and population growth. Human capital, trade openness, and energy demand are the significant drivers of ICT penetration in a country. The study concludes that the use of green technology is imperative for achieving long-term sustainable growth in a country.

Income inequality and CO2 emissions in belt and road initiative countries: the role of democracy

This paper investigates the interaction effects of income inequality and democracy on CO₂ emissions. The spatial panel model, which accounts for the spatial spillover effects across countries, is used. Using the panel data covering 41 Belt and Road initiative countries, the results indicate significant positive spatial spillovers effect to country-level CO₂ emission activity. The Kuznets Curve hypothesis, which assumes that reverse U relation presents between income and CO₂ emissions, is identified. Empirical results provide evidence that democracy levels promote the nonlinear nexus between income inequality and CO₂ emissions. High levels of inequality, ceteris paribus, in conjunction with poor democratic institutions are likely to result in higher pollution. The findings are robust to various robustness tests.

Effect of trade on ecological quality: a case of D-8 countries

Sustainable development inculcates the process of preserving the environment for future generations while maintaining existing human needs. This study attempts to empirically investigate the relationship between CO₂ emissions, GDP, energy consumption, and imports and exports using yearly data between 1980 and 2014 for the panel of eight developing countries (i.e., Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey). All the tests for cointegration establish the long-run association among the variables and confirm the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for the panel of eight countries. GDP and energy consumption remained significant factors for emission intensity both in the long and short run. However, exports found to be positive factor for emissions in the long run only and imports spur emissions in the short run. The country-specific results validate EKC hypothesis for Bangladesh, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. The findings are policy oriented and suggest that the countries' economic growth along with energy consumption and exports are highly emission intensive which require necessary adjustments at sustainable development policy front.