The asymmetric associations between foreign direct investment inflows, terrorism, CO2 emissions, and economic growth: a tale of two shocks

Dynamic nexus among fossil fuels utilization, economic growth, and urbanization: a tri-regional selected countries analysis

There are worldwide growing concerns about environmental issues such as global warming and climate change. Moreover, it is expected that there will be regional differences in environmental issues. Therefore, this study focuses on a tri-regional comparison: America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Previous literature has paid less attention to exploring regional comparisons while considering regional heterogeneity. Against this backdrop, this study delves into the dynamic relationship between fossil fuel utilization, economic growth, globalization, urbanization, and CO2 emissions to understand the environmental implications of these interconnected factors. The study period spans from 1990 to 2021. Additionally, it employed rigorous tests to confirm cross-sectional dependence and data heterogeneity, following methodologies proposed by Pesaran (2004, 2015) and Pesaran (2007), utilizing the CS-ARDL panel cointegration methodology by Chudik and Pesaran (2015). The results confirm long-term significant relationships among OC, NGC, FDI, and UR variables in both combined panels, with and without regional dummies. However, GDP and COC become insignificant in the long run in the dummy variables regression. Furthermore, the regional dummies were found to be negative but remain insignificant, possibly due to heterogeneous effects or unobserved factors influencing each region independently. Analysis by region reveals predominant coal consumption in Asia, higher oil consumption in America, and greater gas consumption in Europe. Economic growth and CO2 emissions are positive in Asia and America but negative in Europe, aligning with theories prioritizing growth over environmental concerns in Asia and America, and advocating for renewable energy adoption in Europe. Urbanization increases energy demand and emissions, supporting the environmental revolution theory, while FDI holds the potential to reduce CO2 emissions, as per the endogenous growth theory.

Nexus of green energy, financial inclusion, militarization, and environmental sustainability: A global perspective

This article investigates the dynamic impact of green energy consumption (GE), financial inclusion (FI), and military spending (MS) on environmental sustainability (ES) by utilizing a sample of 121 countries from 2003 to 2022. The dataset is divided into high-income, upper-middle income and low and lower-middle-income countries. We employed a two-step system GMM approach, which was further robust through panel Quantile and Driscoll-Kraay (D-K) regressions. The findings divulged that green energy resources benefit ES at global and all income levels because of having a significant negative impact of 5.9% on ecological footprints. At the same time, FI and MS significantly enhance ecological footprints by 7% and 6.9%, respectively, proving these factors detrimental to ES. Moreover, conflicts (CON), terrorism (TM), institutional quality (IQ), and socioeconomic conditions (SEC) also have a significantly positive association with global ecological footprints and most of the income level groups. Dissimilarly, financial inclusion and armed conflicts have a non-significant influence on ecological footprints in low-income and high-income countries, respectively. Furthermore, institutional quality enhances ES in upper-middle and low and lower-middle-income countries by negatively affecting ecological footprints. At the same time, terrorism significantly reduces ecological footprints in high-income countries. This research also provides the imperative policy inferences to accomplish various SDGs.

Determinants of ecological footprint in European countries: Fresh insight from Bayesian model averaging for panel data analysis

This study examines the determinants of the ecological footprint of production in European countries from 1992 to 2020. Using partial and semipartial correlation analyses and Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) approach for the first time, the research identifies key variables affecting ecological footprint. Using Bayesian methods, posterior inclusion probabilities (PIPs) were calculated for each variable's coefficient estimates, revealing their relative importance. Biocapacity, energy consumption, industrialization, financial development, life expectancy, and globalization displayed notably high PIPs, indicating their strong influence on the ecological footprint. In addition, the study employs cointegration tests to examine the long-run relationship between ecological footprint and explanatory variables. The results indicate significant cointegration between these variables across panels, supported by various test statistics. In the Weighted Pooled DOLS estimation, biocapacity, energy consumption, and life expectancy significantly influence the ecological footprint, while industrialization, financial development, and globalization exert a comparatively smaller impact. Researchers and policymakers should consider these determinants for effective sustainable development planning. These findings underscore the intricate interplay of factors shaping the ecological footprint and offer insights for effective policy interventions towards sustainable development.

Effect of economic growth, energy use, trade openness and foreign direct investments on carbon dioxide emissions. Evidence from G8 countries

The problem of climate change, which causes various negativities in the global sense, is one of the important research topics. It is necessary to determine the factors affecting carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, which are the main determinants of climate change, and to take measures for this. In this study, based on the hypothesis that economic growth, energy usage, trade openness, and foreign direct investment affect CO2 emissions, it was aimed to examine the effects of economic growth, energy usage, trade openness, and foreign direct investment on CO2 emissions for G8 countries using annual data for the period 1990-2018. For this purpose, first, a literature review was done in the study. Then, cross-section dependency and heterogeneity tests were performed as empirical analyses. Afterward, unit root tests, cointegration analyses, and causality analyses were performed in the study. Finally, in the study, short-term parameters and long-term parameters were estimated to capture possible dynamic relationships between variables. The Westerlund Error Correction Model (ECM) panel test for cointegration showed that there is a cointegration relationship between these variables for both the entire panel and the cross-section units. The results of the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator method showed that (i) economic growth has no effect on CO2 emissions in 7 of 8 countries, (ii) energy usage increases CO2 emissions in 4 of the countries studied but decreases it in one of them, and (iii) foreign direct investments and trade openness do not affect CO2 emissions in 4 countries but positively affects in 2 countries and negatively in 2 countries. According to the results obtained from the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) analysis, while economic growth, energy usage, and trade openness affect CO2 emissions in the long run, economic growth, energy use, and trade openness affect CO2 emissions in the short run too. According to Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality results, it was seen that there is no causal relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth, and energy use. While there is a unidirectional causality from CO2 emissions to foreign direct investments, it was determined that there is a bidirectional causality between trade openness and CO2 emissions. When the results were examined in general, it was understood that the variables of economic growth, trade openness, foreign direct investment, and energy usage are effective on CO2 emissions in the G8 countries. It would be beneficial for countries to include the objectives of making production with clean production technologies, ensuring efficient use of energy, and expanding the use of renewable energies among their main targets.

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

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

Examining the role of tourism industry in green economic and environmental performance: does structural change matter in Asia?

Tourism has become an increasingly significant contributor to economic growth in Asia. However, the rapid expansion of the tourism industry has also raised concerns about its impact on the environment and economic sustainability. Meanwhile, the structural transformation of economies in Asia has also been a major factor in shaping the region's environmental and economic performance. Thus, the present study aims to explore the impact of the tourism industry and structural change on green economic and environmental performance in Asia. Limited empirical evidence exists on the impact of tourism industry and structural change on CO₂ emissions and green growth. The objective of this current study is to examine how tourism industry and structural change impact green economic and environmental performance over the period 1993 to 2020. For analyzing short- and long-run results across different quantiles, we have employed a nonlinear QARDL model that can provide estimates across different quantiles. The findings of the CO₂ emissions model imply that long-term improvements in tourism and structural changes significantly reduce CO₂ emissions. In contrast, the long-term negative changes in tourism and structural changes increase CO₂ emissions. In the green growth model, long-term improvements in tourism and structural changes significantly improve green growth; however, the long-term decline in tourism and structural changes significantly reduce green growth. Moreover, the control variable of ICT reduces CO₂ emissions and improves green growth, and energy consumption increases CO₂ emissions and reduces green growth.

Green finance, renewable energy, financial development, FDI, and CO2 nexus under the impact of higher education

This research investigates the relationships between CO₂ emissions, the economy, renewable energy consumption, green financing, and foreign direct investment in BRICS nations from 2000 to 2019 under the effect of higher education. The stationarity of the data was evaluated using three unit root tests: ADF-Fisher, Levin, Lin, and Chin and Im, Pesaran, and Shin. The panel autoregressive distributed lag approach identified the long-run and short-run elasticities. The empirical findings demonstrate that variables cointegrate. In the long run, renewable energy, economic growth, green finance, foreign direct investment, and higher education all influence CO₂ emissions; however, in the short run, only economic growth, renewable energy, and higher education influence CO₂ emissions. The findings also indicate that higher education increases dramatically at the individual and societal levels, reducing CO₂ emissions in the short and long term. The overall empirical study of group and economy is supported by the results of robust statistics. In light of the results, the BRICS economies are advised to collaborate for sustainable growth while preserving environmental quality. Moreover, the BRICS countries should prioritize investing in the growth of higher education and enhancing the use of renewable energy for sustainable development.

How ICT and globalization interact with the environment: a case of the Chinese economy

An era of rapid changes in the technological and economic aspects of developing and developed countries can have detrimental extortions on the environment around the world. From the perspective of globalization, the rapid development and growth can reroute to enhance the interaction between people, organizations, and countries across the globe including China through the usage of information and communication technology which in turn contributes to the economic growth of one side, whereas on the other side, it affects the environmental quality. Referring to this aspect, this study is focused to inspect the link between information and communication technology, and globalization with the facets of degradation in the environment that as CO₂ emission and ecological footprint by keeping the view of economic growth prospects as well via using the EKC hypothesis. In our study, time-series data was employed from 1987 to 2020 for China using the Dynamic ARDL approach. Grounded on the findings of the study, economic growth from the sight of GDP fallouts in rising the emission of CO₂ and EFP in the short and long run whereas GDP sqr cause decrease in the CO₂ emission and EFP. Thus, this authorizes the presence of inverted U-shaped existence among GDP sqr, CO₂ emission, and EFP. Therefore, this provides provision for the EKC hypothesis in China. Furthermore, ICT and globalization cause a decline in the emission of CO₂ and EFP in the short and long run respectively. In combatting challenges linked to the environment, globalization, as well as ICT, is seen as a crucial factor based on the pieces of evidence in our study while the policy implications are also proposed in the paper.

Effects of foreign aid and energy aid inflows on renewable and non-renewable electricity production in BRICS countries

We empirically examine the effects of overseas aggregate aid and energy aid inflows on renewable and non-renewable electricity production in selected BRICS countries (i.e., Brazil, India, China, and South Africa) from 1995 to 2015. Economic growth, foreign direct investment inflows, and trade openness are control variables in electricity production functions. The results from employing fully modified ordinary least square and dynamic OLS techniques indicate that economic growth, inflows of aggregate aid, energy aid, and foreign direct investment promote renewable electricity production, while trade openness reduces it. We also find that aggregate aid and energy aid inflows reduce the non-renewable electricity production, while economic growth, foreign direct investment inflows, and trade openness promote it. Moreover, our study is unique and adopts different panel estimators, ensuring the robustness of the research findings. Our findings suggest that the BRICS economies' march towards a sustainable environment becomes possible if policymakers, in their climate mitigation policy, encourage greater investments of overseas aggregate aid and energy aid inflows toward renewable electricity production.

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.

Pathways to securing environmentally sustainable economic growth through efficient use of energy: a bootstrapped ARDL analysis

Oman has traditionally relied upon natural gas and oil for meeting its domestic energy demand. As a result, despite growing economically, the level of carbon dioxide emissions in Oman has persistently surged; consequently, the nation has failed to ensure environmentally sustainable economic growth. Against this background, this current study aims to explore the impacts of energy consumption, energy efficiency, and financial development on Oman's prospects of attaining environmentally sustainable growth over the 1972-2019 period. The estimation strategy is designed to take into account the structural break issues in the data. Using the carbon productivity level as an indicator of environmentally sustainable economic growth, we find long-run associations amid the study variables. Besides, higher energy consumption and greater financial development are found to impede carbon productivity while improving energy efficiency is observed to boost carbon productivity in Oman. Therefore, it is pertinent for Oman to consume low-carbon and energy-efficient fossil fuels, improve energy efficiency levels, and green its financial sector to achieve environmentally sustainable growth.

The spatial analyses of consumption-based CO2 emissions, exports, imports, and FDI nexus in GCC countries

Trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) could have environmental consequences for local and neighboring economies due to their spatial linkages and could also affect the production and consumption-based emissions. Hence, we examine their direct and spillover effects on territory-based CO₂ (TCO2) and consumption-based CO₂ (CCO2) emissions in GCC countries using a period 1990-2019 and spatial Durbin model (SDM). The empirical results have corroborated the presence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in an association of economic growth and emissions in both TCO2 and CCO2 models. Hence, economic growth has a positive relationship with CO₂ emissions at the first phase of the EKC and has a negative relationship with CO₂ emissions at the later stage of the EKC. The spillovers of economic growth were found the opposite in the case of TCO2 and insignificant in the case of CCO2. The effect of Financial Market Development (FMD) is found negative on TCO2 emissions and insignificant on CCO2 emissions. Exports have a positive direct effect on TCO2 emissions and have negative spillovers, direct, and total effects on CCO2 emissions. The positive direct effect of exports on TCO2 reflects that exports are raising TCO2 emissions in domestic economies. On the other hand, the negative direct effect of exports on CCO2 explains that exports are helping reduce CCO2 emissions in domestic economies. Moreover, negative spillovers of exports on CCO2 indicate that increasing exports of a GCC country helps reduce CCO2 emissions in neighboring countries. In addition, the negative total effect of exports on CCO2 implies that increasing exports reduce CCO2 emissions in the whole GCC region. Imports have positive spillovers and direct effects on TCO2 and have positive spillovers effects on CCO2 emissions. FDI has negative direct and spillover effects on CCO2 and positive spillover effects on TCO2. We suggest promoting FMD, FDI, and exports to have their positive ecological effects in GCC countries.

The asymmetric effects of crops productivity, agricultural land utilization, and fertilizer consumption on carbon emissions: revisiting the carbonization-agricultural activity nexus in Nepal

Agriculture plays an integral part in facilitating socioeconomic development in Nepal. However, it is also associated with environmental concerns which need to be controlled for the sake of ensuring environmental and agricultural sustainability in tandem. Against this backdrop, this current study aims to check whether shocks to the levels of agricultural productivity, land utilization for crop production, and fertilizer consumption influence the carbon dioxide emission figures of Nepal over the 1965-2018 period. The long-run associations between these variables are confirmed from the cointegration analysis. Besides, the outcomes from the asymmetric non-linear autoregressive distributed lag regression analysis show that crop productivity does not influence the emission levels in Nepal. However, a decline in the land area used for crop production purposes is evidenced to trigger higher emissions of carbon dioxide both in the short- and long run. On the other hand, higher fertilizer consumption is found to boost the short- and long-run carbon dioxide emission levels in Nepal. Accordingly, considering the objective of reducing agriculture-based emissions, this study recommends the Nepalese government to adopt policies that can enhance the productivity of low energy-intensive crop production, stimulate green agriculture and non-agriculture activities, and minimize the use of chemical fertilizers in arable lands.

Exploring the dynamic effects of shocks in monetary and fiscal policies on the environment of developing economies: evidence from the CS-ARDL approach

The literature review of ample body indicates that the majority of the studies rely on a single proxy, while exploring the determinants of environmental quality, that can produce misleading results. To subdue this exigency, the current study extends the literature by deploying three proxies (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions) for assessing the environmental quality. In this context, the current study links macroeconomic policies, economic growth, fossil fuel consumption, and renewable energy consumption with the environmental quality for selected developing countries from 1990 to 2017. The Westerlund cointegration test confirms the long-run association among the variables. The advanced econometric technique reveals the following findings. First, the expansionary monetary and fiscal policies degrade the environmental quality by escalating the ratio of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. However, the contractionary fiscal and monetary policies serve as an effective measure to mitigate the detrimental effects of greenhouse gases. Third, gross domestic product and fossil fuels exhibit a positive association with pollution. Fourth, renewable energy enhances the atmospheric quality by disrupting carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions. The Granger causality test is also employed to confirm the causal relationship between the variables. Based on the results, we claim that macroeconomic policies are highly sensitive to environmental quality; therefore, some important policies are suggested to attain sustainable and green development.

Management of Green Economic Infrastructure and Environmental Sustainability in One Belt and Road Enitiative Economies

Green infrastructure has been considered as one potential solution for improving air quality as well as enhancing environmental sustainability in the modern era. Therefore, the study aims to examine the impact of green economic infrastructure on environmental sustainability in one belt and road initiative (OBRI) economies for the period 2007 to 2019. For empirical investigations, the study adopts 2SLS and GMM approaches. The study uses three proxies to measure green economic infrastructure, namely, green logistics, use of the internet, and green technology. Our 2SLS findings demonstrate that green logistics increases CO2 in OBRI, Central Asia, MENA and reduces CO2 in Europe. However, GMM findings report that green logistics increases CO2 in OBRI, central Asia, and MENA and reduces CO2 in Europe. While our 2SLS findings show that internet use reduces CO2 in OBRI and East and Southeast Asia Europe and increases CO2 in MENA. While GMM findings reveal that the use of the internet reduces CO2 in OBRI and Europe and increases in East and Southeast Asia and MENA. While green technology also enhances environmental sustainability in OBRI. Based on the findings, environmental policies can be revised for OBRI economies.

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.

Trade openness and environment: a panel data analysis for 88 selected BRI countries

In 2013, the Chinese government officially announced the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Since then, environmentalists have raised concerns regarding the environmental impact of trade between China and BRI countries. Therefore, the current study aims to analyze the environmental impact of the two aspects of BRI countries' trade: First, it examines the environmental impact of trade openness between China and BRI countries. Second, it examines the environmental impact of trade openness among BRI countries. For this purpose, the current study employs the two-step system GMM model with a panel dataset for the period 2001-2018. The results obtained for the whole sample of 88 selected BRI countries suggest that the trade openness between China and BRI countries significantly reduces CO₂ emissions. However, the trade openness among BRI countries has no significant effect on CO₂ emissions. In addition, BRI countries' exports to China do not have a significant effect on CO₂ emissions. However, BRI countries' imports from China significantly reduce CO₂ emissions in these countries. The results obtained for the subsamples of BRI countries suggest that the trade openness between China and BRI countries, BRI countries' exports to China, and BRI countries' imports from China have no significant effect on CO₂ emissions in both low-income and high-income BRI countries. Moreover, the trade openness among BRI countries significantly increases CO₂ emissions in low-income BRI countries only.

An analysis of the asymmetric effects of natural gas consumption on economic growth in Pakistan: A non-linear autoregressive distributed lag approach

Natural gas is a vital energy resource that is used to produce the national output of Pakistan. On the other hand, since natural gas is a relatively cleaner energy resource compared to oil and coal, enhancing the level of natural gas consumption can be expected to promote economic growth while somewhat improving environmental quality in the process. Hence, it is pertinent to assess the economic growth effects associated with the consumption of such comparatively cleaner energy resources. Against this background, the main objective of this paper is to explore the asymmetric effects of natural gas consumption, controlling for financial development, on Pakistan's economic growth figure over the 1965-2019 period. The results from the Augmented Dickey-Fuller, Phillips-Perron, and Zivot-Andrews unit root tests confirm a mixed order of integration among the variables. Besides, the bounds test and the Gregory-Hansen co-integration analysis reveal evidence of long-run associations between economic growth, natural gas consumption, and financial development in the context of Pakistan. Moreover, the outcomes from the nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model analysis show that in the short-run, positive changes in the natural gas consumption levels increase Pakistan's economic growth. On the other hand, in the long-run, positive and negative changes in natural gas consumption levels increase and decrease the nation's economic growth level, respectively. On the other hand, both positive and negative changes in the financial development level are found to reduce Pakistan's economic growth level in the long run only. Furthermore, the Hacker-Hatemi-J causality analysis verifies that natural gas consumption causally influences the economic growth level in Pakistan; thus, verifying the energy consumption-led growth phenomenon. In line with these key findings, several policy level suggestions are put forward for Pakistan to enhance its natural gas consumption level in order to boost its economic growth rate in the future.

Is there a tradeoff between financial globalization, economic growth, and environmental sustainability? An advanced panel analysis

In recent years, many empirical studies investigated the effects of globalization on the ecological footprint (EF). Most of these studies relied on the KOF index of globalization and studied the effects of total globalization and disaggregated impacts of economic, social, and political globalization on the EF. However, less attention has been given to financial globalization which can also influence the EF. Hence, this study investigates the association between financial globalization (FG), economic growth (GDP), and EF controlling population density (PD) in the selected West Asian and the Middle East (WAME) nations from 1990 to 2017. The study relied upon second-generation methods for checking stationary properties and Westerlund and other techniques to scrutinize cointegration. The evidence showed cointegration in the model. The long-run approximations from continuously updated fully modified (CUP-FM) and continuously updated bias corrected (CUP-BC) tests divulge that financial globalization is an important factor to promote ecological sustainability in the sample countries because it decreases EF. Population density exacerbates EF and worsens environmental deterioration in sample countries. The study detected the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) between EF and economic growth in the presence of financial globalization and population density. Besides, financial globalization Granger causes EF, while the feedback effect exists between EF and economic growth. Based on these results, WAME economies can accomplish ecological sustainability and sustainable development by enhancing their financial globalization levels.

Do natural gas, oil, and coal consumption ameliorate environmental quality? Empirical evidence from Russia

Environmental degradation stemming from the combustion of conventional energy sources is not only a major factor behind climate change but it also poses an adverse impact on human health. Undoubtedly, fossil fuels are major drivers of economic growth; however, their detrimental environmental impacts are of global concern. In the literature, there is no comprehensive empirical evidence on the linkage between the use of different energy sources and carbon dioxide emissions in the context of Russia, a nation that is ranked third in the list of the top carbon dioxide-emitting global countries. Hence, this paper aims to scrutinize the relationships between oil consumption, natural gas consumption, coal consumption, and carbon dioxide emissions controlling economic growth for Russia over the 1990-2016 period. The findings from the econometric analysis indicate that carbon dioxide emissions in Russia have long-run associations with economic growth and consumption of oil, gas, and coal. The long-run elasticity estimates reveal that economic growth is not directly harming Russia's environmental quality. However, higher oil, gas, and coal consumption degrades environmental quality by boosting the level of carbon dioxide emissions in Russia. In addition, the results from the Granger causality analysis confirm the existence of both long and short-term causal connections among the variables of concern. In line with these findings, several policy recommendations to address the environmental challenges in Russia are put forward.

Green Technology Innovation, Globalization, and CO2 Emissions: Recent Insights from the OBOR Economies

This study explores the connection between technological innovation, globalization, and CO2 emissions by controlling the critical influence of information and communication technology (ICT) and economic growth in a panel of One Belt One Road (OBOR) countries from 1991 to 2019, utilizing advanced and robust econometric strategies (second generation). In addition, this study also uses an interaction variable (TI*GLOB) to check the interaction role of technological innovation on the linkage between globalization and CO2 emission, besides their direct effect on CO2 emissions in OBOR countries. The outcomes revealed that the linkage between technological innovation and CO2 emissions is negative, and statically significant in all the regions (e.g., OBOR, South Asia, East and Southeast Asia, MENA, Europe, and Central Asia). Moreover, the results of globalization show a significant positive relationship with CO2 emissions in OBOR and South Asia region. Nevertheless, it significantly negatively affects environmental pollution in East and Southeast Asia, MENA, Europe, and Central Asia. The results of TI*GLOB indicate that, for the OBOR sample, East and Southeast Asia, and Central Asia, the moderation effects of technological innovation with globalization are significantly negatively associated with CO2 emissions. However, in MENA and Europe, the interaction effect is a significant positive. The coefficient of ICT for OBOR, Europe, and Central Asia are positive and statistically significant; however, for East, Southeast Asia, and MENA regions, these results are statistically negative. Furthermore, the findings are robust, according to various robustness checks that we have performed for checking the reliability of our main findings. The study establishes numerous polities and makes various recommendations, in light of relevant conclusions.