Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Consumption and Trade Policy: Do They Matter for Environmental Sustainability?

Taxing and trading for a greener future: The impacts of China's environmental and trade policies on environmental sustainability

This study delves into the dynamics of China's environmental and trade policies and their impact on environmental sustainability over the period spanning from 1998 to 2022. Employing the autoregressive distributed lag methodology for empirical analysis, our investigation reveals distinctive patterns in policy outcomes. First and foremost, our research illuminates the affirmative role of environmental policy in fostering environmental sustainability. The observed negative effect of environmental policy on carbon dioxide emissions underscores its efficacy in mitigating environmental degradation. In contrast, our findings bring to light the counteractive influence of trade policy on environmental sustainability. The positive effect of trade policy on carbon dioxide emissions signals potential challenges emanating from heightened trade openness concerning environmental preservation. Furthermore, our study elucidates the complex interplay involving information and communication technology, financial development, and fossil energy consumption and their implications for environmental sustainability. The discernible positive effects of these factors on carbon dioxide emissions underscore the need for policy alignment with environmental sustainability objectives. In sum, our research contributes to an enhanced comprehension of the intricate relationship between policy interventions, technological facets, and environmental outcomes within the context of China. These insights bear significance for policymakers and stakeholders striving to navigate the multifaceted landscape of economic growth and ecological preservation in China. Balancing these imperatives is central to achieving lasting environmental sustainability.

Disaggregated energy consumption, industrialization, total population, and ecological footprint nexus: evidence from the world's top 10 most populous countries

High population, energy consumption, industrialization, and environmental degradation are inherently linked, making the study of ecological footprints in the most populous countries crucial for understanding their environmental impact and guiding efforts to minimize ecological degradation through sustainable resource management and conservation. Therefore, this study examines the effects of disaggregated energy consumption, industrialization, and total population on the ecological footprint of the world's top 10 most populous countries namely Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, and the USA, using data for the period of 1990-2020. The research employs Kao and Pedroni techniques of cointegration to determine whether the variables are cointegrated in the long run. The long-term equilibrium association is measured utilizing panel autoregressive distributed lag/pooled mean group (ARDL/PMG), and method of moment quantile (MMQ) regression methods. Furthermore, to test for the causal relationships between the selected variables, we used the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) panel causality method. The findings of the study reveal that renewable energy consumption, as well as GDP square, have a significant negative influence on ecological footprint, implying that renewable energy and GDP square reduce ecological footprint and thus enhance environmental quality. Furthermore, non-renewable energy, industrialization, total population, and GDP have a detrimental impact on environmental quality by increasing ecological footprint. It is also found that there is a one-way causality from non-renewable energy and industrialization to ecological footprint and a bidirectional causal relationship between ecological footprint and total population, GDP, and GDP2. Important policy implications are drawn based on the findings.