Energy consumption, economic growth, and environmental sustainability challenges for Belt and Road countries: a fresh insight from "Chinese Going Global Strategy"

The carbon reduction effect of "Going Global" strategy: an empirical perspective on the carbon emission efficiency of OFDI in China

Under the constraints of the "dual-carbon" objectives, how China can sustain economic development while concurrently achieving carbon emission reduction has become a pressing issue. With the rapid expansion of China's outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), elucidating its impact on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) assumes pronounced significance. Employing the systematic generalized method of moments (GMM) approach, based on panel data spanning the years 2006 to 2019 for China, this study primarily delves into the influence of OFDI on China's CEE. Furthermore, it probes into the mechanisms and asymmetries underpinning the relationship between OFDI and CEE. The principal findings are as follows: (1) augmentation of OFDI exerts a constructive effect on domestic carbon emission reduction, concomitantly yielding a discernible enhancement in CEE. A 1% increase in the magnitude of OFDI flow gives rise to a 0.009% improvement in CEE. (2) Mechanism verification reveals that heightened levels of OFDI operate through elevating green total factor productivity (GTFP), fostering optimal industrial structural adjustments, and invigorating green technological innovation, thereby elevating the CEE of the home country. (3) Asymmetry characterizes the impact of OFDI on domestic CEE, signifying a significant enhancement in regions with lower CEE while exhibiting less conspicuous effects in areas with higher CEE. This study furnishes policymakers with insights into leveraging OFDI to enhance CEE, thereby facilitating the attainment of the "dual-carbon" objectives.

Investigation of barriers and mitigation strategies to blockchain technology implementation in construction industry: an interpretive structural modeling approach

Blockchain technology has emerged as a promising solution for enhancing transparency, efficiency, and security in various industries, including construction. However, implementing blockchain in the construction industry faces several barriers that hinder its widespread adoption. To fill this gap, this study is aimed at identifying and discussing the key barriers to implementing blockchain in the construction industry. The study employs a four-phase methodology. In the first phase, barriers are identified through a comprehensive literature review and supplemented with semi-structured interviews with different stakeholders, identifying critical barriers. The second phase involves data collection from ten construction experts, while the third phase utilizes the interpretive structural modeling (ISM) technique for data analysis. In the fourth phase, ten effective strategies are formulated to tackle the identified barriers and their interdependencies. The results reveal the overall structure of barriers and classify them into four groups based on driving and dependence power using the cross-impact matrix multiplication applied to the classification (MICMAC) technique. The identified barriers include a lack of collaboration in consortium formation, insufficient capacity and performance, and regulatory uncertainty, which hinders blockchain implementation in the construction industry. The research findings provide valuable information for policymakers on the overall structure with barriers and implementation in India and other countries with similar situations. Additionally, the management implications of the results were analyzed to facilitate the effective implementation of measures to overcome the obstacles and increase the level of blockchain adoption in the construction industry.

Green investments, financial development, and environmental quality in Ghana: evidence from the novel dynamic ARDL simulations approach

Numerous studies have examined the influence of macroeconomic factors on environmental quality in Ghana. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no study on the connection between green investments, financial development, and environmental quality in the context of this Sub-Saharan African country. This study was therefore conducted to help fill this gap using annual frequency time series data ranging from 1970 to 2018. In attaining the objectives of this study, robust econometric techniques were employed. From the results, all the variables were first differenced stationary and cointegrated in the long run. The dynamic ARDL simulations technique with the support of the ARDL estimator was employed to examine the elastic effects of the predictors on the response variable, and from the discoveries, green investments improved environmental quality in Ghana both in the long and the short run via carbon dioxide mitigations. However, in both the long and the short run, financial development and energy utilization had a detrimental influence on environmental quality due to their positive influence on carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, the N-shaped association between national income and environmental pollution was validated for Ghana. On the causal directions amidst the variables, there was no causality between green investments and environmental degradation was evidenced; however, a bidirectional causality between financial development and environmental pollution was also discovered. Also, unidirectional causalities running from national income and energy consumption to environmental degradation were discovered. Based on the findings, the study recommend that investments in green sources should be intensified to help improve environmental quality in Ghana. Furthermore, improving developments in the financial sector is a vital means through which the country could attain its sustainable development goals.