Investigating factors affecting global environmental sustainability: evidence from nonlinear ARDL bounds test

Exploring the asymmetric effects of urbanization and trade on CO2 emissions: fresh evidence from Pakistan

Over the past few decades, rapid or unplanned urbanization has been a major problem for developing countries, affecting the environment very badly. Pakistan is also the fifth most vulnerable country in terms of environmental impact from socio-economic activities. Mostly, this type of research has been conducted across countries. So, this study intends to analyze the role of urbanization in energy consumption, economic growth, trade, and technology in carbon emissions by evaluating data from 1985 to 2021 in the context of Pakistan. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) with Granger causality assessment are employed to experimentally examine the variables' short and long-term associations. The ARDL result demonstrates that carbon dioxide (LCO2) emissions are increased by energy consumption (LEC) and technology (LTech), while they are decreased by economic growth (LEG) and trade (LT). In NARDL, rising and falling urbanization (LU) lead to increased carbon emissions, but insignificantly. Ascending LEC leads to increased emissions, whereas descending LEC leads to reduced emissions in the context of short and long-term asymmetry. Yet, the opposite is true in the case of trade: a rise in LT decreases emissions significantly, whereas a fall in LT increases emissions insignificantly. This paper highlights the importance of international trade for a country facing these challenges. This means that LT is at the forefront of emission-reducing technology. A Granger causality analysis results show that LU and LTech are two critical determinants of LCO2 emissions. Diagnostic tests ensure the model's reliability, ensuring that it could potentially be used without adverse intent. The research concludes that in order to minimize carbon dioxide emissions, the government should encourage the adoption of low-carbon technology through international trade (the exchange or import of low-carbon products) and implement policies tailored to urbanization and energy demand.

Environmental innovation and environmental sustainability in a Nordic country: evidence from nonlinear approaches

Environmental sustainability has been a priority of energy study experts, yet, until recently, the approaches largely ignored innovation issues. This paper investigates the relationship between environmental innovation and environmental sustainability in a Nordic country, Norway, from 1990:Q1 to 2019:Q4. In Norway, climate change, protection of the ozone layer, biodiversity, urbanization, acidification, eutrophication, persistently high toxic waste, and increased fragility have injected volatility and uncertainty into the Norwegians-a reality that may continue for a while. This study is unique in that it uses the nonlinear ARDL approach to analyze in depth how environmental innovation affects environmental sustainability in Norway while controlling for economic growth, renewable energy, and financial development. In particular, the findings reveal that (i) environmental innovation improves the environment in Norway over long-term horizons; (ii) strengthening patents on environmental innovations can foster clean living, green growth, and zero CO₂ emissions; (iii) investing in renewable energy sources benefits the Norwegian environment by reducing carbon emission growth; and (iv) economic growth and financial development promote CO₂ emission growth. The policy consequence is that Norway's policymakers should continue to invest in cleaner technologies and encourage environmental education and training of employees, suppliers, and consumers.

Heading towards sustainable environment: does renewable and non-renewable energy generation matter for the effect of industrialization and urbanization on ecological footprint? Evidence from China

This study examines how renewable and non-renewable energy generation interacts with both to affect the ecological footprint in China during 1990-2019 by using FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR estimation techniques and ARDL simulation models to assess the impact of industrialization and urbanization on environmental sustainability based on the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis model framework. Firstly, the findings verify the applicability and validity of the EKC hypothesis in China. Secondly, renewable energy generation, industrialization, and urbanization facilitate the reduction of ecological footprint and the improvement of environmental quality in the long run, while non-renewable energy generation increases the ecological footprint and leads to the intensification of ecological pollution. However, the short-term estimates give evidence that industrialization, urbanization, and renewable and non-renewable energy generation can all increase the ecological footprint, which is not conducive to ecological sustainability. Thus, from the perspective of ecological sustainability in China, our findings are important in that they provide clear directions for ecological policy formulation, and we also provide some targeted policy recommendations for them to promote sustainable development as a goal.

The asymmetric and long-run effect of energy productivity on environmental quality in Ireland

This study aims to examine the long-run asymmetric impact of energy productivity on environmental quality in Ireland. The data set covers the period from 1990Q1 to 2019Q4. Although the border issue has been the source of contention and terrorism for decades in Ireland, the country is conscious of modern innovations and has a coherent body of environmental law. Ireland's goal is to achieve 80% of its electricity as renewable energy and reduce carbon emissions by 51% in 2030. Unlike earlier studies, the novelty of this study lies in the thorough analysis of how energy productivity affects the quality of the environment in Ireland while controlling for financial development, primary energy consumption, and economic growth utilizing the nonlinear ARDL approach and other robust econometric techniques. Precisely, the results indicate that (i) energy productivity benefits the environment by lowering CO2 emissions (CO2E) in the long term; (ii) financial sector development enhances the quality of the environment in Ireland; (iii) increase in primary energy consumption and economic growth without eco-friendly protocols propel an increase in CO2E. These findings support the economic theory that energy productivity can stimulate steady green living and green technological growth. We recommend that policymakers in Ireland invest in energy productivity and prioritize R&D that embraces cleaner technologies and cross-cutting eco-friendly policies to combat environmental challenges in Ireland and the world at large.

Inequality consequences of natural resources, environmental vulnerability, and monetary-fiscal stability: a global evidence

Despite making significant progress in reducing poverty over the last several decades, the world has witnessed persistent surge in global inequality. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between natural resource, environmental vulnerability, monetary-fiscal stability, and inequality in a global perspective during 2005 to 2019 for 61 countries. We distinguish between consumption and income inequality to see whether the variables under study have different implications for different measurement of inequality. The study employs Driscoll-Kraay standard error method which can account for the cross-sectional dependence between the countries. The study divides 61 countries according to the World Bank income classifications to provide evidence of heterogeneity in the sample economies. The main finding highlights that natural resources induce both consumption and income inequality whereas greenhouse gas emissions have been found to reduce the inequality of both types. Quality of government and access to electricity decrease consumption and income inequality while technological innovation and monetary-fiscal stability have incremental impacts on inequality. The coefficient of natural disaster has been shown to be positive for consumption inequality but negative and insignificant for income inequality. When analyzing moderating impacts, we find that quality of government cannot moderate the positive impact of natural resources on consumption inequality, but it can exacerbate the resources' impact on income inequality. The result for sub-sample group also differs for consumption and income inequality. The study recommends management of natural resources in a sustainable way with the help of good governance.