Evaluating the influence of biofuel and waste energy production on environmental degradation in APEC: Role of natural resources and financial development

Abstract

Biofuel and waste energy is green energy and may significantly influence the environment. This article explores the effect of biofuel and waste energy energy production on environmental degradation with the role of natural resources and financial development in 14 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation nations during the period 1990 to 2017. Various second-generation econometric approaches have been adopted to get robust and reliable results. Driscoll-Kraay standard errors technique's outcomes explore that biofuel and waste energy production has a negative and significant association with environmental degradation, and its 1% increase would reduce environmental degradation by −0.050%. The results also show that economic development, natural resources and financial development are positively correlated with the dependent variable, i.e., environmental degradation. As financial sector cannot effectively combat the environmental degradation so, checks and balances are strongly advocated for financial sector. Further, APEC governments should prioritize sustainable use of natural resources and address the overexploitation problem to attain optimal economic development. Overall study proposes Sustainable development goal-oriented policy framework for central authorities of chosen countries.