Relationships between Renewable Energy and the Prevalence of Morbidity in the Countries of the European Union: A Panel Regression Approach

Unveiling the health consequences of air pollution in the world's most polluted nations

Air pollution poses a persuasive threat to global health, demonstrating widespread detrimental effects on populations worldwide. Exposure to pollutants, notably particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 µm (PM2.5), has been unequivocally linked to a spectrum of adverse health outcomes. A nuanced understanding of the relationship between them is crucial for implementing effective policies. This study employs a comprehensive investigation, utilizing the extended health production function framework alongside the system generalized method of moments (SGMM) technique, to scrutinize the interplay between air pollution and health outcomes. Focusing on a panel of the top twenty polluted nations from 2000 to 2021, the findings yield substantial insights. Notably, PM2.5 concentration emerges as a significant factor, correlating with a reduction in life expectancy by 3.69 years and an increase in infant mortality rates by 0.294%. Urbanization is found to increase life expectancy by 0.083 years while concurrently decreasing infant mortality rates by 0.00022%. An increase in real per capita gross domestic product corresponds with an improvement in life expectancy by 0.21 years and a decrease in infant mortality rates by 0.00065%. Similarly, an elevated school enrollment rate is associated with a rise in life expectancy by 0.17 years and a decline in infant mortality rates by 0.00032%. However, a higher population growth rate is found to modestly decrease life expectancy by 0.019 years and slightly elevate infant mortality rates by 0.000016%. The analysis reveals that per capita greenhouse gas emissions exert a negative impact, diminishing life expectancy by 0.486 years and elevating infant mortality rates by 0.00061%, while per capita energy consumption marginally reduces life expectancy by 0.026 years and increases infant mortality rates by 0.00004%. Additionally, economic volatility shock presents a notable decrement in life expectancy by 0.041 years and an increase in infant mortality rates by 0.000045%, with inflationary shock further exacerbating adverse health outcomes by lowering life expectancy by 0.70 years and elevating infant mortality rates by 0.00025%. Moreover, the study scrutinizes the role of institutional quality, revealing a constructive impact on health outcomes. Specifically, the institutional quality index is associated with an increase in life expectancy by 0.66% and a decrease in infant mortality rates by 0.0006%. Extending the analysis to examine the nuanced dimensions of institutional quality, the findings discern that economic institutions wield a notably stronger positive influence on health outcomes compared to political and institutional governance indices. Finally, the results underscore the pivotal moderating role of institutional quality in mitigating the deleterious impact of PM2.5 concentration on health outcomes, counterbalancing the influence of external shocks, and improving the relationships between explanatory variables and health outcome indicators. These findings offer critical insights for guiding evidence-based policy implications, with a focus on fostering resilient, sustainable, and health-conscious societies.

Association between exposure to wind turbines and sleep disorders: A systematic review and meta-analysis

To date, there is scarce evidence on the association between sleep disorders and noise generated by wind turbines. We searched six relevant electronic databases from the inception to May 2023 for relevant articles. The methodological quality of the included articles was evaluated using the US National Institutes of Health tool. Fifteen articles met the inclusion criteria. The overall prevalence of sleep disorders among residents close to wind turbines was 34% (95% Confidence Interval, 0.22-0.47). Univariate meta-regressions for distance and sound power level showed that at higher distance the prevalence of sleep disorders decreases (p = 0.010) and with a higher sound power level the prevalence increases (p = 0.037). Furthermore, this systematic review and meta-analysis highlighted that the overall quality of current research on this topic is poor, and the methods to measure the results are often based on subjective assessments and not validated questionnaires. In conclusion, our preliminary findings suggest that there may be a possible relation between exposure to wind turbines and sleep disorders, although no conclusions can be drawn in terms of causality due to the nature of the retrieved data and the poor quality of current evidence. Future studies should adopt a longitudinal design and focus on objective measurements, supported by validated subjective methods such as questionnaires.

Can the Clean Heating Policy reduce carbon emissions? Evidence from northern China

The Clean Heating Policy aims to solve the problems of excessive energy consumption and severe air pollution caused by central heating in northern China. Whether this policy can effectively reduce carbon emissions remains unexplored. Using panel data representing 65 cities in northern China from 2010 to 2019, this paper constructs a dynamic spatial DID model to empirically study the carbon reduction effect of the Clean Heating Policy and its influence channels. The results are summarized as follows. First, the Clean Heating Policy can significantly reduce carbon emissions, and this conclusion holds after multiple robustness tests. The policy has a lag effect, but its spatial spillover effect and long-term effect are not significant. Second, the carbon reduction effect of the Clean Heating Policy is mainly achieved by optimizing the energy structure and improving the thermal efficiency of heat consumer terminals. Third, the carbon reduction effect varies by city and emission field. It is significant only in low-subsidy cities, high-carbon cities, and household fields. Fourth, there is a synergistic reduction relationship between the Clean Heating Policy and the low-carbon city policy. Based on the results of this paper, we propose policy implications, such as promoting policies in multiple ways and improving subsidy efficiency, and provide a reference for other countries.

Re-examining the nexuses of communicable diseases, environmental performance, and dynamics of sustainable Development in OECD countries

We investigate the determinants of communicable diseases (CDs) and nexus of financial development, economic development, and renewable energy consumption to address the issues of ecological footprint level, the impacts of communicable diseases (CDs), and economic growth of the OECD countries throughout 2000-2019. The results from FMOLS and DOLS reveal that the levels of financial development, energy consumption, and trade volume significantly contribute to overcoming the death toll occurring due to CDs. As regards the growth function, the level of trade in the economy is significantly associated with economic growth. The findings reveal that the improvements and developments in the financial sectors and trading activities cause a reduction in the infection cases represented by COVID-19. In contrast, economic growth does have a negative but insignificant impact upon COVID-19. We conclude that sound financial development combined with economic and environmental regulations could be strategically helpful to cope with CDs.