Revisiting the Environmental Kuznets Curve: A New Evidence on the Relationship Between Marine Degradation and Global Economic Activities

Air pollution, global greenhouse gases (GHG), water pollution and water resources degradation are among the most serious environmental concerns that encounter the Qatar country. In nowadays, it is commonly known that the effects of environment degradation exceed its direct negative impacts on climate changes to cover its impacts on Human health, nation livelihood and cultural integrity. So, we advocate that understanding and determining factors explaining environmental degradation remain an important question of research. Moreover, by determining factors that explain environment degradation, policymakers, researchers and international institutions can help on recommending the adequate economic policies that can improve the environment quality and the live standing of inhabitants. In the empirical literature, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) is the most powerful tool used to investigate the relationship between environment degradation and some macroeconomics and financial variables. Following the EKC hypothesis, the relationship between economic growth and environment degradation is inverted-U shaped. From the economic perspective, this means that initially economic growth increases environment degradation and then declines it after a threshold point of income per capita. More specifically, at initial level of economic growth, an increase in income is linked with an increase in energy consumption that raises environment degradation. After reaching a critical level of income, the spending on environment protection is increased, and hence environment degradation tend to decrease. From an econometrical or statistical perspectives, the EKC hypothesis have been firstly tested using the basic EKC equation which relies the environment degradation proxy to the real GDP and to a nonlinear term of the real GDP (the squared real GDP). If the EKC hypothesis holds then the real GDP and the squared real GDP have respectively a positive and negative signs. This EKC hypothesis has been firstly introduced by Kuznets (1955) when examining the relationship between economic growth and income inequality which shows that this relationship is inverted U-shaped. Grossman and Krueger (1995) are the first to examine this relationship between environment degradation and economic growth in their seminal paper published on the Quarterly Journal of Economics. They found that this relationship is inverted U-shaped which validates the EKC hypothesis. Empirically, until now no consensus has been reached about the true nature of the relation between real GDP and environment degradation. Evidence for the EKC hypothesis is very mixed. Overall, the results seem to depend in many factors including the specification, the pollutants and the econometrics technique used. First, empirical studies show that the results in term of positive and negative relationships as well as in term of magnitude differ significantly for the same country depend on the specification studied, linear, quadratic or cubic. Moreover, the inclusion of other factors in the right hand of the regression such as urbanization, trade openness, financial development and political stability have a significant impact on the magnitude of the income per capita variables coefficients. Second, the results differ significantly following the environment degradation proxy used. For instance, Horvath (1997) and Holtz-Eakin and Selden (1995) suggest that the use of global pollutants leads to continuously rise the levels of environment degradation or to a high levels of income per capita turning point, see also Esteve and Tamarit (2011). Third, the results also seem to depend in the econometric approach employed. In this paper, we investigate the case of the Qatar economy for several reasons. First, Qatar 2030 vision has given a high importance to questions related to air pollution, climate change and their impacts on economic sustainability. Second, the rapid increase of economic growth of the Qatar economy in the last two decades has been accompanied with an increase in energy consumption, urbanization and international trade. These factors are among the most important factors largely used in theoretical and empirical literature to explain environment degradation. Third, following the world health organization (WHO), local air pollution levels in Qatar has frequently exceeded recommended levels and are more time higher than the international standards. In fact, compared to the WHO's standards for PM10 for the 24-hour average and for the annual average concentration of 50 ug/m 3 and 20 ug/m 3 the Qatar's national air quality standards are far from these values. For instance, the values for PM10 is around 150 ug/m 3 for 24 hours average concentration and to 50 ug/m 3 for the annual average concentration. The data set used in this paper consists on macroeconomics and financial data, including CO 2 emissions, ecological foot print, real GDP per capita, energy use, urbanization, financial development and openness trade, to investigate the EKC hypothesis for the Qatar economy. All the dataset except the ecological foot print variable are collected from the world Bank's development indicators (WDI). The ecological footprint data is obtained from the National Footprint Accounts (NFAs) of the Global Footprint Network. This variable is employed as second proxy of environment quality measures. This data set used is a quarterly data and covers the period 1975Q1 to 2007Q4 for variables used for ecological footprint equation and covers the periods 1980Q1 to 2010Q4 for the CO 2 emissions equations variables. This paper contributes to the empirical literature of the EKC hypothesis in many ways. First, to our knowledge this paper is the first to consider the case of the Qatar economy as a single country to test the EKC hypothesis as well as the different directions of causality between variables. Second, in addition to the CO 2 emissions largely employed in the empirical literature, in this paper we employ also the ecological footprint as a new proxy of environmental degradation. Third, we use recent development of cointegration approach with structural breaks which is also rarely used for the case of EKC hypothesis. As tests of cointegration with shifts in the cointegration vector, we use the Gregory and Hansen (1996), Hatemi-J (2008) and to investigate the causal relationship between all variables using standard Granger causality tests. Fourth, to our knowledge this paper is the first study that uses Markov Switching Equilibrium Correction Model with shifts in both the intercept and the income per capita coefficient for the long run relationship between environment degradation and its key determinants. The empirical findings of this paper are useful for Qatari policymakers and especially for the ministry of environment of the Qatar government. Moreover, economic implications and economic policy are proposed and discussed. [1] P.O.Box: 2713-Doha-Qatar. Email: lcharfeddine@qu.edu.qa. Office: (+974) 4403-7764(+974) 4403-7764, Fax: (+974) 4403-5081. 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Economic growth, urbanization, and financial market development (FMD) may increase energy demand in any economy. Non-renewable sources of energy consumption, i.e., oil consumption and natural gas consumption (NGC), could have environmental consequences. We examine the effects of economic growth, urbanization, and FMD on the oil consumption and NGC in Middle East countries using the period 1975–2019. In the panel results, we found a positive effect of income and a negative effect of income-squared on oil and natural gas consumption. Hence, we corroborate the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in oil and natural gas consumption models of the Middle East region. Urbanization has a positive effect on oil and natural gas consumption. FMD has a positive effect on oil consumption and has a negative effect on NGC. From the long-run, country-specific results, we validate the existence of the EKC hypothesis in the oil consumption models of Iran and Iraq. The EKC is also found in the natural gas consumption models of Iran, Kuwait, and the UAE. From the short-run results, the EKC hypothesis is validated in the oil consumption models of Iran, Iraq, and Israel. The EKC is also corroborated in the NGC models of Iran, Kuwait, and the UAE. In the long run, urbanization has a positive effect on oil consumption in Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Further, urbanization has a positive effect on the NGC in Iraq, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. Conversely, urbanization has a negative effect on oil consumption in Israel. In the short run, urbanization has a positive effect on oil consumption in Iraq, Israel, Kuwait, and Qatar. Moreover, urbanization has a positive effect on the NGC in Iraq. On the other hand, urbanization has a negative effect on oil consumption in Saudi Arabia and Iran. In the long run, FMD has a positive effect on oil consumption in Saudi Arabia and Israel. In the short run, FMD has a positive effect on oil consumption in Israel, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. In contrast, FMD has a negative effect on oil consumption in the UAE. Moreover, a positive effect of FMD on NGC is found in the UAE. However, FMD has a negative effect on the NGC in Israel.

PurposeBased on the hypothesis of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between environmental pollutants (as measured by CO2emissions) and GDP for India, over the period 1980–2012. The presence of an inverted “U” shape relationship is examined while controlling for factors such as the degree of trade openness, foreign direct investment, oil prices, the legal system and industrialization.Design/methodology/approachTo verify whether the EKC follows a linear, quadratic or polynomial form, autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach for cointegration with structural breaks is adopted. The annual time series data for carbon emissions (CO2), economic growth (GDP), industrial development (industrialization), foreign direct investment and trade openness have been obtained from World Development Indicators online database. Crude oil price (international price index) for the period is collected from the International Monetary Fund. Data for total petroleum consumption are collected from the US Energy Information Agency. Data for economic freedom variables are from the Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom Index's online database.FindingsThe findings support the existence of invertedU-shaped EKC in the short-run, but not in the long-run. A linear monotonic relationship has also been estimated in select model specifications. Additionally, trade openness has been estimated to reduce emissions in models, which incorporate FDI. Else, where significant, its impact on carbon emissions is adverse. A rise in fuel price leads to reduction in carbon emissions across model specifications. Further, the lower size of government degrades the environment both in the long-run and short-run.Practical implicationsGiven the existence of the pollution haven hypothesis, wherein more trade and foreign direct investments cause environmental degradation, the paper proposes formulation of appropriate regulatory mechanisms that are environmentally friendly. Additionally, India's new economic policies, favoring liberalization, privatization and globalization, reinforces the need to strengthen environmental regulations.Originality/valueIncorporation of economic freedom as measured by the “Size of Government” in the EKC model is unique. “Size of Government” deserves a special mention. The rationale for including this explanatory variable is to understand whether countries with lower government size are more polluting. After all, theory does suggest that goods and services, which have higher social cost vis-à-vis private cost, shall be overproduced in economies that adopt more market-friendly policies, necessitating government intervention. In the study, size of government is measured as per the definition and methodology adopted by Fraser Institute's Economic Freedom of the World Index.

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to examine the validity of the agriculture-induced environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis with evidence from an autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach with a structural break including real income and energy consumption in the model for Ghana over the period 1980–2014.Design/methodology/approachThe ARDL approach with a structural break was used to analyze the agriculture-induced EKC model which has not been studied in Ghana. The dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), canonical cointegration regression (CCR) and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) econometric methods were further used to validate the robustness of the estimates, and the direction of the relationship between the study variables was also clarified using the Toda–Yamamoto Granger causality test.FindingsThe ARDL results revealed that GDP, energy consumption and agricultural value added have significant positive effects on CO2 emissions, while GDP2 reduces CO2 emissions. The Toda-Yamamoto causality test results show a bidirectional causality running from GDP and energy consumption to CO2 emissions whereas a unidirectional long-term causality runs from GDP2 and agriculture value-added to CO2 emissions.Practical implicationsThis finding validated the presence of the agriculture-induced EKC hypothesis in Ghana in both the short run and long run, and the important role of agriculture and energy consumption in economic growth was confirmed by the respective bidirectional and unidirectional causal relationships between the two variables and GDP. Thus, a reduction in unsustainable agricultural practices is recommended through specific policies to strengthen institutional quality in Ghana for a paradigm shift from rudimentary technology to modern sustainable agrarian technologies.Originality/valueThis study is novel in the EKC literature in Ghana, as no study has yet been done on agriculture-induced EKC in Ghana, and the other EKC studies also failed to account for structural breaks which have been done by this study. This study further includes a causality analysis to examine the direction of the relationship which the few EKC studies in Ghana failed to address. Finally, dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), canonical cointegration regression (CCR) and fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) methods are used for robustness check, unlike other studies with single methodologies.

PurposeThis study investigates the link between economic growth, environmental sustainability and deforestation in Ghana, aiming to identify the economic drivers of deforestation and assess how sustainable economic practices can mitigate its rates.Design/methodology/approachThe study used secondary data from 1980 to 2023. It applied quantitative techniques, including regression, vector error correction model and multiple Granger causality to examine the impact of GDP growth, adjusted net savings (ANS) and other control variables on Ghana’s deforestation rate.FindingsThe analysis supports environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, indicating that deforestation initially rises with GDP but declines at higher levels. It finds a long-term relationship where economic growth correlates with reduced deforestation. ANS promotes sustainable growth, while FDI increases deforestation.Research limitations/implicationsThe study supports the EKC hypothesis, indicating that economic growth initially increases deforestation but that ANS positively impacts long-term GDP growth. It emphasizes directing FDI toward sustainable sectors to mitigate deforestation. Overall, integrating environmental sustainability into economic planning is crucial for Ghana’s growth.Practical implicationsTo support sustainable economic development in Ghana, policies should integrate environmental sustainability into growth strategies and standardize adjusted net savings as a metric for evaluating resource-intensive projects. Directing FDI toward sustainable industries, along with stabilizing inflation, can help mitigate deforestation while promoting eco-friendly practices.Originality/valueThis study’s originality lies in analyzing Ghana’s forestry and economic growth through the EKC framework and adjusted net savings from 1980 to 2023. Unlike prior research, this paper addresses overlooked interactions between growth, environmental sustainability, population growth and FDI using more recent, stable data relevant to current policy decisions.

Plastics have become an indispensable part of modern life. Although plastics, which become waste after use, are recycled for the economy, they have become a critical problem because many cause environmental pollution and threaten life. It is known that the use of plastics has increased rapidly in parallel with the increase in income that has emerged from the increasing industrialization since the 1950s. According to the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth. Considering the critical importance of the plastic waste problem, plastic waste should also be evaluated with the EKC approach. For this purpose, panel data analysis was applied to the plastic waste data of the European Union countries. Research findings show that the EKC validates plastic waste in EU countries from 2004 to 2019. This shows that environmental policies should be planned around the Plastic Waste EKC.

Environmental degradation is caused by the high level of energy use, which becomes a major problem in the world. This research will investigate how energy consumption, economic growth, and population affect carbon emissions in the Asia Pacific region, with data from 15 countries spanning the 1988-2021 period. The energy consumption was measured by how much oil and coal were used. The research used panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) models to study carbon emissions, oil consumption, coal consumption, economic growth, and population. The study found that growth in coal consumption, oil consumption, and population has a positive significant effect on carbon emissions in the long term. Conversely, economic growth has a significant negative impact. Meanwhile, in the short term, both coal consumption and economic growth have a positive impact on increasing carbon emissions. The results of this study support the hypothesis that there is an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). This paper suggests that increasing green investment and shifting from fossil-based to eco-friendly sectors would be beneficial. Second, the resilience of economic growth is important. The third way to preserve the environment is to control the rate of population growth.

The achievement of economic growth is equally important as environmental sustainability. Economic growth is considered capable of enhancing the overall welfare of society. However, there is a sacrifice stemming from economic growth in the form of negative external impacts. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in Indonesia and India. The EKC hypothesis connects economic growth with CO2 emissions. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is employed to assess both the long-term and short-term impacts of economic growth on CO2 emissions in Indonesia and India. Additionally, the study seeks to comprehend the applicability of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in these countries over the period of 1965-2021. The research findings indicate that economic growth has a significant impact on CO2 emissions in the short term, but this influence is not sustained in the long term in Indonesia. In contrast, in India, economic growth does not exhibit a significant effect on CO2 emissions in the short term, but it does have a notable impact in the long term. This implies that Indonesia does not align with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in the long term, while India is anticipated to adhere to the EKC hypothesis in the future.

One of the greatest challenges for sustaining the ecosystem services that we, as a society, derive from marine ecosystems is to minimize the knowledge gap relating to marine ecosystem values. That is, identifying, eliciting and understanding the economic value of the ecosystem services that marine systems provide for societies world-wide is key to ensuring sustainable resource use and environmental management of these ecosystems. This is particularly problematic for the ecosystem services derived from the deep sea as a tremendous knowledge gap exists for the many marine ecosystems that comprise the deep sea. Addressing this gap in knowledge may, directly and indirectly, facilitate actionable strategies for successful climate change adaptation and reduce the degradation of these important marine ecosystems. Estimating values for certain types of marine ecosystem services in particular the deep sea is imperative for understanding the economic trade-offs associated with human actions and resource use of marine resources. Identifying, exploring and understanding the economic benefits and costs associated with the human resource use of marine systems is also crucial for circumventing irreversible damage to ecosystems, and for addressing the growing problem of ecosystem degradation of marine ecosystems. However, a knowledge gap remains in terms of eliciting and understanding how vulnerable marine ecosystems, such as coral reefs and the deep-sea, generate economic value to local economies, and for societies on a global scale. By employing a variety of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, this thesis explores the economic value of the ecosystems of coral reefs and the deep-sea, respectively. The thesis investigates various aspects of the economic contribution of these ecosystems, namely: (i) the local economic contribution of ) Fiji's coral reefs to tourism; and ii) the economic value of the deep- sea's ecosystems to human societies, globally. Moreover, it discusses the importance of exploring the social and non-monetary value of coral reefs to human well-being in the South Pacific Island Countries (SPICs). The research of this thesis therefore constitutes a genuine contribution to understanding how changes in these marine ecosystems impact on economies and human well-being, now and in the future. Although the full extent to which ecosystem degradation of marine ecosystems will impact economies and societies globally remains uncertain, its impacts are already being witnessed, e.g. through ocean acidification, sea-level rise, reduced fish stocks and changing environmental conditions. In turn, these impacts affect human survival and well-being by negatively impacting fishery incomes, food security and coastal protection in many countries around the world. Action and investment plans for reducing the ecosystem degradation of marine systems are urgently needed to protect the value of those ecosystem services to human societies. Deepening our understanding of marine ecosystems' economic contributions constitutes a crucial component of facilitating action plans and investments for sustainable resource use and development. Valuation of vulnerable marine ecosystems is important for several reasons. First, valuation of an ecosystem's contribution to society demonstrates the importance of that ecosystem for social stability, economic growth and human well-being, thereby improving public awareness of that ecosystem's significance. Second, ecosystem valuation can inform policy and decision-making for future conservation programs and legislation pertaining to the human use of marine resources. Third, ecosystem valuation creates important incentives to invest in the protection of marine systems as it outlines the connection between the ecological functioning of marine systems on the one hand, and economic output and stability on the other hand. Fourth, ecosystem valuation can also raise awareness about the importance of protecting biodiversity. Finally, ecosystem valuation of marine ecosystems is especially important for supporting decision-making related to the resource-use of marine ecosystems for which very limited information exists on their economic contribution. The thesis starts with an introduction and a literature review of the main themes and concepts along with the problems, challenges and opportunities associated with the ecosystem valuation of coral reefs and the deep-sea. Subsequently, the research studies of this thesis, which constitutes chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 are presented. Specifically, chapter 2 explores the economic impacts of future (hypothetical) deep-sea mining activities on Fiji's tourism industry, through a contingent behaviour study; chapter 3 discusses the need for developing non-monetary and social ecosystem valuation methodology in order to elicit marine ecosystems' importance for human well-being in the SPICs; chapter 4 explores current knowledge about the deep-sea's economic value through a systematic review and meta-analysis; and chapter 5 identifies the four main priorities for future ecosystem valuation, policy-making and research pertaining to the deep-sea. This thesis makes a small but significant contribution to the knowledge base of the economic value of the ecosystems of coral reefs and the deep-sea, respectively, and to developing future ecosystem valuation by means of introducing the social willingness-to commit (Social WTCommit) technique. Finally, this thesis can contribute to policy-making, decision-making and legislation pertaining to the deep-sea and coral reefs, locally and globally.

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the interplay between economic growth and environmental sustainability by exploring the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and Environmental Load Capacity Curve (LCC) hypotheses on a global scale. Leveraging panel data from 146 countries spanning 1990–2022, the research employs advanced econometric models to analyze how key factors—renewable energy consumption, technological innovation, trade openness, and population aging—affect carbon emissions and ecological resilience. The results confirm the validity of the EKC and LCC hypotheses by carbon emissions follow an inverted U‐shaped trajectory with per capita GDP, reaching an inflection point at $9239.99; the load capacity factor demonstrates a U‐shaped relationship, rebounding at $27,345.71 per capita GDP; additionally, renewable energy is shown to have a long‐run positive impact on environmental load resilience, while its carbon reduction effect is stronger for countries in earlier stages of economic development (the effects are −0.1492, −0.1332, and −0.8034). Technological innovation, although negatively correlated with load capacity before the EKC inflection point, contributes positively to environmental improvement after this point. Trade openness demonstrates a stronger emission‐reducing effect in advanced economies (the effects are −0.2014 and −0.1252), while the influence of population aging is heterogeneous—enhancing environmental outcomes in strongly decoupled countries but exacerbating degradation in non‐decoupled regions. Moreover, the research confirms the existence of a lagged coupling relationship between the inflection points of the EKC and the LCC. The decline in carbon emissions after the EKC inflection point will promote the emergence of the LCC inflection point. Finally, these targeted strategies are proposed.

The preponderance of emerging economies confronts significant trade-offs between economic growth and environmental sustainability considerations, and Turkey is no exception. This study draws strength from the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs-7,11,12 & 13). To this end, the present study explores the role of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for the case of Turkey for annual frequency data from 1970 to 2020. The present study leverages on the novel dynamic autoregressive-distributed lag (DARDL) methodology and Bayer and Hanck combined cointegration test. The combined Bayer and Hanck cointegration test alongside ARDL bounds test traces equilibrium relationship between economic growth, urbanization, FDI, energy use, and CO2 emission over the investigated period. Empirical results from the DARDL simulation analysis validates the EKC hypothesis. These results suggest that environmental quality is being compromised for economic growth at the earlier stage of economic growth (scale stage). The EKC phenomenon is affirmed as a 1% increase in economic growth increase emission level by 0.1580% and quadratic economic growth decrease emission by 0.1095% in the short and long run, respectively. Similarly, urbanization and energy used in both the short and long run also worsen environmental quality while FDI influx in the long run improves environmental quality in Turkey. These outcomes have far-reaching environment-urbanization growth implications. From a policy lens, the current study subscribed to the environmental stick policies and investment on strategies on a paradigm shift from fossil-fuel energy consumption base to renewables. Further insights are highlighted in the concluding section.

Rapid global economic growth has increasingly been linked with rising environmental degradation, particularly in emerging economies, creating a need for balancing economic expansion and environmental sustainability. Nigeria, with carbon emissions reaching approximately 127.942 megatons and a declining GDP per capita of $1,621 in 2023, exemplifies this critical challenge. This study examines the impact of environmental degradation on the Nigerian economic growth between the periods 1990 and 2023 using the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares method to test the hypothesis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). It specifically investigates the impact of trade openness, foreign direct investment (FDI), and per capita health expenditure channels in affecting the relationship. The results showed a marginally significant positive correlation between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions (?=0.028, p=0.066). This suggests that Nigeria is still in the early stage of EKC, where economic expansion is still having a negative environmental impact. While trade openness had no effect, FDI had a significant negative impact on economic growth (?= -0.174, p=0.003), suggesting that current foreign investments may have negative environmental effects. Economic growth was significantly boosted by health expenditure per capita (?=0.876, p=0.000), highlighting the significance of this investment in reducing the negative health effects of the environment and increasing productivity. The study recommends that Nigeria’s National Environmental Standards Regulatory and Enforcement Agency should intensify environmental regulations and encourage green foreign investment in the bid to abate the negative environmental effects linked with economic development. Additionally, the Federal Ministry of Health should increase per capita health spending to enhance labour productivity and reduce environmental health risks, thus facilitating a sustainable economic trajectory that mirrors the EKC turning point.

This study explores the influence of financial technology (FinTech) on Economic Growth (EG) and environmental sustainability (measured through focusing on CO2 emissions). By analyzing panel data from 81 countries between 2001 and 2022, the research uses Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to evaluate direct, indirect, and total effects. The findings, derived from Stata 18, show a significant positive direct effect of FinTech on EG (coefficient = 0.8439, p < 0.001), affirming the hypothesis that FinTech stimulates economic development. Moreover, EG substantially boosts CO2 emissions (coefficient = 0.3628, p < 0.001), highlighting a trade-off between economic progress and environmental sustainability. FinTech also directly increases CO2 emissions (coefficient = 0.3511, p < 0.001), implying that advancements in financial technology can worsen environmental issues. The mediation analysis indicates that some of FinTech's impact on CO2 emissions is mediated through EG (indirect effect = 0.3061, p < 0.001), emphasizing FinTech's dual role in promoting EG and environmental degradation. The total effect of FinTech on CO2 emissions (0.6573, p < 0.001) underscores the substantial environmental costs associated with financial technological advancements. Theoretically, this research enriches the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and supports the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. It extends TAM by showing how the acceptance and integration of FinTech innovations affect macroeconomic and environmental outcomes. Additionally, it provides empirical support for the EKC hypothesis, which suggests that EG initially causes environmental degradation until a certain income level is reached, after which environmental conditions improve. These results highlight the challenge of balancing technological and economic advancements with environmental sustainability, stressing the need for policies that incorporate sustainable practices within the FinTech sector. This research adds to existing literature by offering detailed insights into the environmental impacts of FinTech and provides valuable guidance for policymakers aiming to foster sustainable economic development.

Economic growth without accounting for the simultaneous environmental deterioration that accompanies the achievements is doubtful to be sustained over time. Thus, global economies in the contemporary era have reached a consensus in aligning their respective growth policies with the environmental welfare aspects. Thus, economic and environmental welfares are envisioned to take place in tandem. However, as per the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, economic growth in the initial stages can trigger a trade-off between economic and environmental well-beings which, beyond a certain growth threshold, can be expected to be diminished. Hence, it is pertinent to identify the key factors that can attribute to lower environmental hardships alongside economic growth in the long run. Against this milieu, this paper investigates the authenticity of the EKC hypothesis for aggregate and disaggregated greenhouse emissions in the context of six South Asian economies namely Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan. Annual data from 1980 to 2016 is employed to conduct panel data estimation exercises that are robust to handling cross-sectional dependency and structural break issues. Besides, the impacts of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) use on the economic growth–greenhouse emissions nexus are also explored. The findings from the econometric analyses validate the existence of the EKC hypothesis for both aggregate and disaggregated greenhouse emission figures. Moreover, the country-specific EKC analysis reveals heterogeneity of the EKC findings across the concerned South Asian countries. However, LPG consumption is found to homogenously reduce the greenhouse emissions within all the economies. Finally, the heterogeneous panel causality test results reveal unidirectional causation stemming from economic growth to aggregate greenhouse emissions. Furthermore, statistical evidence regarding bidirectional causality between LPG consumption and aggregate greenhouse emissions and unidirectional causalities running from LPG consumption to carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions are also ascertained. These findings collectively imply that LPG can potentially act as a transitional fuel for the South Asian countries prior to undergoing renewable energy transition. Thus, it is recommended to promote the use of LPG for bridging the existent energy crises and simultaneously mitigating environmental pollution in South Asia.

Assessing the environmental sustainability gap in G20 economies: The roles of economic growth, energy mix, foreign direct investment, and population