Abstract
AbstractThe high pace of economic growth has posed many challenges. These challenges include depletion of natural resources, globalization challenges, and environmental degradation. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) economies are rich in mineral resources. Economic globalization has put the MENA countries in the spotlight for the developed world. Despite the status of being a hotspot for mineral resource richness, there is limited research on the effect of natural resources and economic globalization on the environmental degradation of the MENA countries. This paper examines the effects of natural resource abundance and economic globalization on environmental quality by considering trade openness, urbanization, and economic growth from the year 1980 to 2018. We apply second‐generation panel cointegration techniques along with continuously updated fully modified (Cup‐FM) and continuously updated bias‐corrected (Cup‐BC) techniques. The findings show that natural resource abundance significantly improves environmental quality. Likewise, economic globalization also mitigates emissions levels in the MENA countries. In contrast, trade openness, urbanization, and economic growth significantly deteriorate environmental quality. The unidirectional link indicates natural resources and economic globalization create trade openness. The paper provides novel empirical evidence and policy recommendations for sustainable development goals.
Highlights
Humanity has faced the major challenge of climate change since the turn of this century
Understanding the causes of growing CO2 emissions and choosing appropriate mitigation strategies is critical for all countries; this subject is crucial for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) (Middle East North African) region due to its specific characteristics
Environmental sustainability is a major global problem, and the topic has drawn the attention of researchers and policymakers because of climate change
Summary
Humanity has faced the major challenge of climate change since the turn of this century. The economic development sustained by consuming massive natural resource reserves, such as oil and gas, has sparked industrialization, urbanization, and unsustainable agriculture activities in the region (Magazzino & Cerulli, 2019). This research explores the connection among natural resource abundance, economic globalization, and CO2 emissions in the unique context of MENA countries. Ahmed et al (2020b) and Zafar et al (2020) support the view that economic development and the resulting industrialization and urbanization kindle natural resources exploration This study makes the following contributions to the literature It explores the nexus among natural resource abundance, economic globalization, and CO2 emissions in the unique setting of MENA countries.
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