FDI, economic growth, and carbon emissions of the Chinese steel industry: new evidence from a 3SLS model

Emerging trends of carbon emissions and foreign direct investment: accounting for ecological footprints, renewable energy, globalization, and technological innovations in BRICS

This paper investigates the intricate interplay between carbon emissions and foreign direct investment within the context of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) for the period spanning 2000 to 2022. In our comprehensive analysis, we incorporate ecological footprint, renewable energy, globalization, and technological innovations as exogenous variables. Employing a system of simultaneous equations across the BRICS panel, we aim to fully elucidate the proposed relationships. Our empirical findings underscore the following key insights: foreign direct investment, technological innovations, and the adoption of renewable energy sources significantly contribute to the mitigation of carbon emissions in these selected nations. However, it is essential to note that ecological footprints exhibit a positive association with carbon emissions, raising concerns on two fronts: escalating environmental degradation and increased land pressure, both of which contribute to rising ecological footprints in BRICS countries. Additionally, our analysis reveals that foreign direct investment is influenced by its capacity to reduce carbon emissions and bolster renewable energy adoption, while globalization amplifies investment trends within the BRICS nations. To address the environmental repercussions of mining activities, it is imperative to implement stringent control and regulation measures, given their potential adverse impacts, including soil pollution, acid mine drainage, erosion, biodiversity loss, excessive water resource consumption, and wastewater disposal challenges. Nevertheless, proactive steps such as recycling mining waste, adopting environmentally friendly mining equipment, combatting illegal mining, and enhancing overall mining sustainability offer promising avenues to mitigate the environmental footprint of mining operations.

Digital finance, government intervention, and carbon emission efficiency in China

In accordance with the "dual carbon" objective, China is required to effectively pursue economic expansion and environmental preservation while concurrently enhancing carbon emission efficiency (CEE). This study examines the influence of digital finance on CEE and evaluates the moderating effect of government intervention. The analysis uses panel data collected from 282 cities in China at the prefecture level and above, spanning the period from 2011 to 2021. The findings indicate the following: (1) CEE in China is relatively low, and there are notable regional disparities. Specifically, there is a discernible downward trend in CEE throughout the eastern, central, and western areas. (2) In general, the implementation of digital finance has the potential to enhance the efficiency of carbon emissions. The observed effect is significant in the eastern and central regions but not in the western region. (3) Government subsidies have the potential to amplify digital finance's impact on CEE in the eastern region. Conversely, in the central and western regions, its influence can be increased by environmental regulations. Based on these findings, this study presents recommendations for advancing digital finance, enhancing the targeting and assessment of government subsidies, refining environmental regulations, and encouraging the adoption of green technologies.

The role of OFDI in home-country pollution: insights from LMDI and 3SLS approaches

Under the global climate crisis, harnessing investment for sustainable development is a practical and effective measure for international society. Based on the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) decomposition and three-stage least squares (3SLS) structural approaches, this study explores the home-country pollution reduction effect of Chinese OFDI activities using the city-level panel data from 2007 to 2019. The findings of this study indicate that (1) China has made a remarkable achievement in PM2.5 pollution reduction and governance, especially from the year 2012. (2) The OFDI activities can significantly decrease the home-country PM_2.5 pollution. With every 1% increase in OFDI flows, the overall pollution level will decrease by 0.76%. (3) Compared with the scale mechanism, the technology and composition mechanism effects of OFDI flows are more evident in addressing the home-country PM_2.5 pollution. With several related policy implications, this study may fill the lacuna of how to play the role of OFDI activities in the home country, thus promoting sustainable development in the next stage.

Interrelationship among environmental policy stringency, financial globalization in OECD countries, and CO2 emission with the role of technological innovation and financial development

The study examines the nexus between financial globalization (FG), environmental policy stringency (EPS), financial development (FD), and technological innovation (INV) on CO2 emission with moderating effect of technological innovation on financial development and environmental degradation in 36 OECD countries with an updated dataset from the period of 1990 to 2020 using PMG (Pooled mean group) panel ARDL method. The results of stationarity tests; (Levin, Lin, and Chu test; ADF Fisher test) demonstrate that selected variables are stationary at level I(0) and first difference I(I); this confirms that PMG estimator can be employed. Cointegration tests indicate that cointegration exist among the variables. The empirical findings of the PMG estimator indicate that financial globalization and CO2 are negatively associated with each other. While financial development, environmental policy stringency, and technological innovation have positive impact on environmental degradation in OECD countries. Furthermore, technological innovation strengthens the association between financial development (FD) and environmental degradation (CO2 emission). In order to accelerate economic growth, the study recommends that policymakers should implement environmental policies to achieve low-carbon mechanisms, such as green infrastructure and renewable energy systems, which reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, it is crucial that the selected OECD countries should develop programs that increase awareness of the risks of carbon emissions.

Does foreign direct investment asymmetrically influence carbon emissions in sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence from nonlinear panel ARDL approach

In recent decades, the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI) and carbon emissions has garnered the extensive attention by researchers and governments across the globe. Also, for most part, empirical studies on this nexus have assumed a symmetric relationship through the imposition of linear specifications. However, such relationships do not account for asymmetries in the impact of FDI on carbon emissions. In the case of sub-Saharan Africa, such relationships are crucial and need more careful analysis given the important role FDI plays in the development of the sub-region. Thus, this paper examines the asymmetric effect of FDI on carbon emissions in 41 selected sub-Saharan African countries spanning from 1996 to 2018. In order to decompose FDI into positive and negative partial sum and examine possible asymmetric effects of the variables on carbon emissions, we used the panel nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach. This method accounts for cross-sectional variances. Our results show that in the long run, a positive shock in FDI increases carbon emissions while a negative shock lowers them. Our results also show that carbon emissions respond asymmetrically to changes in FDI. It is recommended that comprehensive investment policies aimed at encouraging clean technology and environmentally friendly investments be implemented to ensure environmental sustainability.

Asymmetric effect of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on environmental degradation in sub-Saharan Africa

Purpose

While there are enormous studies on the determinants of environmental degradation, empirical studies on the effect of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on the environment remain limited. The purpose of this paper is to examine the asymmetric effect of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on environmental degradation in 31 selected sub-Saharan African countries spanning from 1990 to 2018.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine possible asymmetric effects of the exogenous variables on environmental degradation, we used the panel nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag approach and secondary data was sourced from the World Bank (2021).

Findings

The cointegration test results suggest that there is a long-run cointegration among the variables whereas our main findings indicate that environmental degradation responds asymmetrically to changes in renewable energy consumption and economic growth. The results further reveal that both positive and negative shocks in renewable energy consumption reduce environmental degradation. On the other hand, positive and negative shocks in economic growth increase environmental degradation in the long run.

Research limitations/implications

The implications of this study include the need for policymakers in sub-Saharan Africa to encourage the utilization of renewable energy as it reduces environmental degradation. Also, governments in the subregion should gradually replace the usage of fossil fuels by adapting renewable energy sources so as to achieve higher economic growth.

Originality/value

The positive and negative shocks of renewable energy consumption and economic growth on environmental degradation are examined to ascertain their asymmetric relationships.

An analysis of the environmental impacts of ethnic diversity, financial development, economic growth, urbanization, and energy consumption: fresh evidence from less-developed countries

Improving the quality of environmental indicators has become a global concern that necessitates the identification of possible channels through which environmental welfare can be enhanced worldwide. Against this backdrop, this current study aims to elucidate the environmental effects of ethnic diversity, controlling for financial development, urbanization, economic growth, and energy consumption in the context of 51 less-developed countries during the period from 1996 to 2016. For measuring the environmental impacts, we use both the ecological footprint and carbon dioxide emission figures of these countries. Overall, the cointegration analysis confirms the existence of long-run relationships among the study variables. Besides, the regression analysis reveals that ethnic diversity deteriorates environmental quality by surging the ecological footprint and carbon dioxide emission levels of the selected nations. Similarly, financial development and energy consumption are found to impose identical adversities on the environment while urbanization is evidenced to ensure environmental welfare. Lastly, for both the environmental indicators considered in this study, the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis is verified from the findings. Hence, considering these key outcomes, a set of relevant environmental welfare-related policy interventions are recommended in the context of less-developed countries.

On green credits and carbon productivity in China

Based on panel data from 30 provinces over the period of 2003-2016, this study uses the spatial econometric model to examine the effect of green credits on carbon productivity. The research findings show that there is a significant positive correlation between green credits and carbon productivity among provinces during this period. Provinces with high levels of carbon productivity (green credits) are also geographically adjacent or economically close to provinces with high levels and vice versa. Regression results of the whole sample show that green credits not only promote carbon productivity, but also have a positive spatial spillover effect. Similar regression results using regional sub-samples indicate that the direct promotion effect and spatial spillover effect of green credits on carbon productivity are more obvious in the central and western regions than in the eastern parts of the country. The research findings have important and relevant policy implications as far as the relationship between green credits and carbon productivity is concerned.

Feasibility Study of Bio-Sludge Hydrochar as Blast Furnace Injectant

Hydrothermal treatment can convert paper mill biological (bio-) sludge waste into more energy-dense hydrochar, which can achieve energy savings and fossil CO2 emissions reduction when used for metallurgical applications. This study assesses the basic, combustion and safety performance of bio-sludge hydrochar (BSHC) to evaluate its feasibility of use in blast furnace injection processes. When compared to bituminous and anthracite coals, BSHC has high volatile matter and ash content, and low fixed carbon content, calorific value and ignition point. The Ti and Tf values of BSHC are lower and the combustion time longer compared to coal. The R0.5 value of BSHC is 5.27 × 10−4 s−1, indicating a better combustion performance than coal. A mixture of BSHC and anthracite reduces the ignition point and improves the ignition and combustion performance of anthracite: an equal mixture of BSHC and anthracite has a R0.5 of 3.35 × 10−4 s−1. The explosiveness of BSHC and bituminous coal is 800 mm, while the explosiveness of anthracite is 0 mm. A mixture of 30% BSHC in anthracite results in a maximum explosiveness value of 10 mm, contributing to safer use of BSHC. Mixing BSHC and anthracite is promising for improving combustion performance in a blast furnace while maintaining safe conditions.

Reinvestigating the pollution haven hypothesis: the nexus between foreign direct investments and environmental quality in G-20 countries

One of the most commonly debated concerns regarding foreign direct investment inflows is the associated environmental adversities that accompany the influx of foreign funds. As a result, assessing the environmental impacts of foreign direct investment inflows is necessary for achieving environmentally friendly economic growth in the contemporary era. Accordingly, the global economies including the members of the Group of Twenty (G-20) should focus on attracting clean foreign direct investments. Against this backdrop, controlling for energy consumption and urbanization, this extant study scrutinizes the effects of foreign direct investment inflows on the carbon dioxide emission figures of selected G-20 countries between 1992 and 2018. The econometric analysis conducted in this paper involves recently developed methods that are efficient in handling cross-sectionally dependent heterogeneous panel data sets. Besides, the analysis is also conducted for sub-panels of high-, upper-middle-, and lower-middle-income G-20 countries to evaluate the possible heterogeneous environmental effects across the G-20 countries belonging to different income levels. Overall, the results highlight that higher foreign direct investment inflows surge carbon dioxide emissions whereby the pollution haven hypothesis is evidenced to hold for the G-20 nations of concern. Similarly, both at the aggregated and disaggregated levels, greater consumption of energy is witnessed to boost carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. Moreover, urbanization is found to trigger carbon dioxide emissions for the G-20 nations overall and the lower-middle-income G-20 nations. Further, the causality analysis reveals that carbon dioxide emissions have bidirectional causal relationships with foreign direct investment inflows, energy consumption, and urbanization. In line with these major findings, this study recommends that the governments of the G-20 countries inhibit inflows of dirty foreign direct investments, reduce fossil fuel dependency, and adopt green urbanization policies for achieving higher economic growth without marginalizing environmental well-being.

Comprehending the environmental regulation, biased policies and OFDI reverse technology spillover effects: a contingent and dynamic perspective

Technology spillovers have the substantial effect on the industrial structure in emerging economies especially from OFDI (Outward Foreign Direct Investment). This research aims to examines the issue on how environmental regulation and biased policies can more effectively promote the OFDI reverse technology spillover effect, specifically the technology spillovers. By classifying the key industries mentioned in the '12th Five-Year Plan' and '13th Five-Year Plan', this research uses panel data from 2010 to 2019 obtained from provincial OFDI in China and utilizes difference in difference (DID) model and threshold regression approach to validate the analysis. The results show that the key industrial policy is favorable to the local OFDI reverse technology spillover. From the outlook of economic significance, the industrial policy increases the regional OFDI reverse technology spillover by 0.133%. Findings of our study further reveals that the environmental regulation and biased policy effectively promote the regional OFDI reverse technology spillover with certain stability. This study findings will be beneficial for policy makers to stimulate the reverse technology spillover impact of local OFDI more effectively from three aspects such as regional marketization level, innovation ability and financial structure.

An input-output structural decomposition analysis of changes in China's renewable energy consumption

Governments actively encourage renewable energy use to deal with climate change and achieve carbon emission reduction targets. It is crucial to find out the driving factors that affect the utilization of renewable energy. Therefore, based on China's 2010-2016 input-output table, this paper uses the input-output model and structural decomposition analysis (SDA) to analyze the driving factors of renewable energy changes in the production end, household end, and the aggregate economy. The results show that the changes in the consumption structure (F) is the most crucial factor for renewable energy use, followed by technology progress (T) and final demand per capita (V). Sector SEHW (supply of electric power, heat power, and water) and MCRP (manufacture of coke and refined petroleum products) are the two vital sectors to achieve China's energy transition of the production level. However, as for households, the proportion of renewable energy has been declining. Hence, the government should promote renewable energy use and achieve the green transition in production and household levels.

Environmental contamination and human exposure of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in China: A review

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), together with 11 other organic compounds, were initially listed as persistent organic pollutants (POPs) by the Stockholm Convention because of their potential threat to ecosystems and humans. In China, many monitoring studies have been undertaken to reveal the level of PCBs in environment since 2005 due to the introduced stricter environmental regulations. However, there are still significant gaps in understanding the overall spatial and temporal distributions of PCBs in China. This review systematically discusses the occurrence and distribution of PCBs in environmental matrices, organisms, and humans in China. Results showed that PCB contamination in northern and southern China was not significantly different, but the PCB levels in East China were commonly higher than those in West China, which might have been due to the widespread consumption of PCBs and intensive human activities in East China. Serious PCB contamination was found in e-waste disassembling areas (e.g., Taizhou of Zhejiang Province and Qingyuan and Guiyu of Guangdong Province). Higher PCB concentrations were also chronicled in megalopolises and industrial clusters. The unintentionally produced PCBs (UP-PCBs) formed during industrial thermal processes may play an increasingly significant role in PCB pollution in China. Low PCB levels were recorded in rural and underdeveloped districts, particularly in remote and high-altitude localities such as the Tibetan Plateau and the South China Sea. However, these data are limited. Human exposure to PCBs is closely related to the characteristics of environmental pollution. This review also discusses existing issues and future research prospects on PCBs in China. For instance, the accumulation characteristics and migration regularities of PCBs in food webs should be further studied. More investigations should be undertaken to assess the quantitative relationship between external and internal exposure to PCBs. For example, bioaccessibility and bioavailability studies should be supplemented to evaluate human health risks more accurately.

Does foreign direct investment asymmetrically affect the mitigation of environmental degradation in Malaysia?

In this modern era, the global warming issue has been on the front burner of almost all countries including Malaysia. This study utilizing time series data spanning from 1970 to 2018. To this end, a linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model was conducted to reveal the foreign direct investment-growth-environment nexus. The conclusion validates the existence of the pollution haven hypothesis in Malaysia. Specifically, the empirical results of the linear autoregressive distributed lag model indicate that foreign direct investment and real gross domestic product have a significant positive impact on CO₂ emission while carbon damage cost and the interaction term of foreign direct investment and carbon damage cost have a negative impact in the long run and short run. To find the asymmetric behavior of the foreign direct investment our study employed a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. The findings confirmed the asymmetry association of foreign direct investment with CO₂ emission. Interestingly, our results of the interaction term in both models are significant with a negative sign that shows the mediating effect of carbon damage cost that converts the positive effect of foreign direct investment on CO₂ emission to negative. Thus, it is vital to reinforce the use of significant regulation as the Malaysian economy opens up to attract more foreign direct investment.