Abstract
The Ecological Footprint (EFP) is a useful indicator for assessing the progress of environmental performance and offers a solid basis for sustainability studies. In this paper, we contribute to the broadening of its possibilities of investigation by measuring the cross-country links in the EFP in global hectares per capita. The modeling framework is based on the dynamic factor analysis to estimate, in the parametric form, an index that provides information about the short-run dynamics of the EFP in the EU. Following this approach, we identify different patterns in the EFP behavior of the European countries during the period of 1962–2017. The results show stronger links across the EFP of the main European countries: France, Austria, Belgium, Germany, Denmark and the U.K. The proposed analysis gives a better understanding of the links behind environmental degradation in the EU and is applicable for the implementation and design of environmental policies.
Highlights
As a world leader in taking action on climate change, the EU has constantly demanded environmental regulations to combat it
The existence of club convergence or groups of countries that converge suggests that environmental policies should consider the different convergence paths associated with them. These results demonstrate that certain countries have similar dynamics and conditions in regards to the drivers of environmental quality and environmental degradation
We offer an innovative empirical approach that may be a useful tool to evaluate the features of Ecological Footprint (EFP) performance across member states
Summary
As a world leader in taking action on climate change, the EU has constantly demanded environmental regulations to combat it. These include biodiversity loss, climate change, resource use and pollution, which require strong commitments to respond to them For this purpose, the European Commission published a proposal for an 8th Environment Action Programme in 2020 in order to ensure that the EU climate and environment laws are effectively implemented. According to the Global Footprint Network (2021) [2], on the demand side, the EFP represents the ecological assets that a population requires in order to produce all of the resources they consume, including livestock-based food, fishery products, forestry, and infrastructure This variable is calculated in global hectares. The short-run approach can be of interest to supplementing and improving research into the efficiency of environmental policies This makes it very interesting to delve into the short-term characteristics and dynamics of the EFP in the EU and the possible links between countries.
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