Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis Research Articles

Promotion of Sustainable Development in the EU: Social and Economic Drivers

The transition to sustainability is a complex process that requires a clear understanding of its drivers and barriers. The paper explores the impact of different social and economic factors on sustainable development as a holistic process. The research involved data from 27 EU member states during 2012–2020. Hausman specification and Breusch and Pagan Lagrangian multiplier test were used to select the proper econometric model, which led to the use of generalized least squares regression with random effects to estimate the sustainable development drivers in the EU. The results suggested that corruption has no statistically significant impact on sustainability, whereas economic freedom increases Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index. Our empirical results demonstrated that GDP per capita inhibits sustainability transition, which could be a case of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. Unemployment has a negative impact on sustainable development; however, employment in science and research is its driver. It was unfolded that median income per capita and life expectancy have a statistically significant positive impact on the SDG Index. Following these findings, a wide range of policy recommendations was suggested. They include but are not limited to: ensuring economic freedom, human capital development, digitalization of public services, and lifelong education promotion.

Environmental sustainability and biomass energy consumption through the lens of pollution Haven hypothesis and renewable energy-environmental kuznets curve

This article examines the relationship between foreign direct investment, economic growth, natural resources, urbanization, biomass energy usage, and ecological footprint in 87 middle-income countries using data spanning 1990 to 2017. The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC), the Renewable Energy-EKC, and the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH) were tested by employing the Augmented mean group and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test. The empirical results show the inverted U-shaped link between economic growth and ecological footprint that demonstrates the existence of the EKC hypothesis. The empirical findings support the PHH since increasing foreign direct investment is the cause of the increased ecological footprint in middle-income countries. The urbanization process and natural resources put much strain on the environment's long-term viability. Furthermore, the findings demonstrated an inverted U-shaped association between biomass energy usage and economic growth, confirming the Renewable Energy-EKC. According to the findings, urbanization and foreign direct investment are crucial determinants of biomass energy usage. These results urge governments to offer comprehensive economic and energy strategies for the sustainability of the ecosystem and to meet the SDG targets.

Realizing the 2050 Paris climate agreement in West Africa: the role of financial inclusion and green investments

International organizations have emphasized the importance of global economies supporting efforts to combat climate change. The Paris Agreement or Agenda 2050 urges nations to ensure that the increase in global temperature is limited to 1.5 °C. Studies have analyzed the factors that contribute to harmful emissions, particularly carbon dioxide emissions, in order to limit temperature rise. However, since there are other equally harmful pollutants, this study evaluates the impact of financial inclusion and green investment on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study uses data from West Africa, where environmental pollution has significantly increased. The study employed regression analysis while controlling for economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and energy consumption. The study's key findings reveal that financial inclusion and green investment have a monotonic effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the study confirms the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and the pollution haven effect for the region. Technological innovation reduces pollution, but green investment and financial inclusion reinforce this effect. Therefore, the study recommends that governments in the sub-region commit to supporting green investment and environmentally friendly technological innovations. It is also crucial to strictly enforce laws regulating the operations of multinational corporations in the region.

Economic Activities and Management Issues for the Environment: An Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and STIRPAT Analysis in Turkey

The emission of air pollutants from energy production and consumption is a major cause of environmental problems. In addition, urbanisation and CO2 emissions have become major environmental concerns that are closely related to climate change and sustainable economic growth. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the long-run relationship among CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic activities, and management issues for Turkey for the period between 1980 and 2021. The STIRPAT hypothesis and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis were employed by using dynamic conditional correlation (DCC) and ARDL bound methodologies for these goals. The findings indicate that there is a long-run relationship between variables of the STIRPAT model. The coefficient of economic expansion and energy consumption affected CO2 emissions positively, which means that energy consumption and the expansion of economic activity have significant effects on environmental degradation. Those results are also confirmed by the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model. In addition, the N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) is developed for Turkey. The DCC model also shows that economic growth increases CO2 emissions significantly, and energy productivity can be considered for decreasing CO2 emissions.

Information and communication technology, institutional quality, and environmental sustainability in ASEAN countries.

Concerns regarding climate change pollution have remained critical in achieving sustainable development goals. However, countries are still having difficulty reducing environmental deterioration, requiring substantial attention. Hence, this study evaluates the effect of information and communication technology (ICT), institutional quality, economic growth, and energy consumption on ecological footprint under the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) framework in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries from 1990 to 2018. Moreover, this study also checks the impact of an interaction term (ICT and institutional quality) on ecological footprint. We utilized cross-section dependence, cross-section unit root, and Westerlund's cointegration tests for the econometric investigation to check cross-section dependence, stationarity, and cointegration among parameters. For long and short run estimation, we used pooled mean group (PMG) estimator. PMG outcomes demonstrate that the ICT and institutional quality clean the environment by mitigating the ecological footprint. Further, the joint impact of ICT and institutional quality also moderate environmental degradation. Moreover, economic growth and energy consumption increase the ecological footprint. In addition, empirical outcomes also support the presence of the EKC hypothesis in ASEAN countries. The empirical outcomes suggest that environmental sustainability's sustainable development goal can be achieved through ICT innovation and diffusion and by improving the intuitional quality framework.

Reconsidering the environmental Kuznets curve, pollution haven, and pollution halo hypotheses with carbon efficiency in China: A dynamic ARDL simulations approach.

Given a new perspective on the environmental hypothesis, this paper systematically investigates the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), pollution haven, and pollution halo hypotheses using carbon efficiency as the dependent variable. Applying the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag simulations based on the annual time series data over the period 1990-2019, the study found that real GDP per capita has negative effects on China's environmental quality both in the short and long run, whereas the square of real GDP per capita has positive impacts. This validates the EKC hypothesis for China. Furthermore, foreign direct investment has negative effects on environmental quality in China, implying that the case of China exemplifies the pollution haven hypothesis and not the pollution halo hypothesis. The empirical results also demonstrate that energy efficiency and trade openness improve China's environmental quality both in the short run and long run. These findings, therefore, provide insights into achieving the ambitious climate goals in China by 2050.

The role of renewable and nuclear energy R&D expenditures and income on environmental quality in Germany: Scrutinizing the EKC and LCC hypotheses with smooth structural changes

This study analyzes the effect of renewable energy research & development (RRD) and nuclear energy research & development (NRD) expenditures on environmental quality by considering Germany’s goal of achieving carbon neutrality until 2045. Hence, the study uses various environmental indicators (carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, ecological footprint-EF, and load capacity factor-LCF) to investigate the effects of RRD and NRD on the environmental quality controlling also a gross domestic product (GDP) and test the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and recently proposed load capacity curve (LCC) hypotheses. Also, the study includes yearly data from 1974 to 2018, uses fractional frequency Fourier autoregressive distributive lag (FADL) based FMOLS approach as the main model, and applies FADL based DOLS approach and Fourier wavelet causality test for the robustness. The empirical results reveal that (i) the explanatory variables have a cointegration link with CO2 emissions and EF; (ii) the EKC hypothesis is valid for Germany, while the LCC hypothesis is invalid; (iii) RRD expenditures are effective only in reducing CO2 emissions; (iv) RRD and NRD expenditures have no significant effect on the EF. Considering the results, German policymakers could utilize RRD more effectively and efficiently to improve environmental quality and reduce the EF. In this way, Germany could achieve its carbon neutrality goal until the middle of the century by benefiting from RRD facilities.

Does energy efficiency mediate a green economic recovery? Evidence from China

A green economic recovery post-pandemic presents a unique opportunity to rebuild a more sustainable and resilient world while promoting economic growth in China. One key aspect of a green economic recovery is energy efficiency, which can significantly reduce energy consumption, lower costs, and create new jobs. This study focuses on the relationship between carbon emissions and energy efficiency in China. Using province-level CO2 emissions data from 1990 to 2022, the study finds that energy efficiency has both positive and negative asymmetric effects on CO2 emissions in the long run, while renewable energy has a positive effect and non-renewable energy has a negative effect. The study also confirms the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, indicating that as per capita income increases, investments in cleaner technologies should be encouraged to mitigate the adverse effects of CO2 emissions. The energy and environmental policy implications are also suggested as prioritizing policies that improve energy efficiency, promote renewable energy sources, and reduce non-renewable energy consumption to achieve sustainable development goals.

Militarization of NATO countries sparks climate change? Investigating the moderating role of technological progress and financial development

This study evaluates the effects of military expenditures (MEX) on environmental pollution, as well as the moderating role of factors such as financial development and technological progress for 15 NATO member countries under the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Using the CS-ARDL estimator, the study analyzes the effects of MEX, income, energy consumption, financial development, and technical progress on carbon emissions spanning the period from 1991 to 2018. Additionally, interaction terms are employed to regularize the moderating effects of financial development and technical advancement. The results show that income, energy consumption, and MEX all contribute to a rise in emissions. It is also found that the financial sector does not eradicate the detrimental ramifications of MEX on the environment, but that technological progress has a moderating effect. A 1% increase in the interaction of technological progress with the military sector reduces environmental degradation by 0.36, but a 1% augment in the interaction of the financial sector with the military sector increases carbon emissions by 0.41%. For this reason, it is imperative to evaluate and revise the financing of MEX of NATO countries from an environmental perspective for sustainable development. Furthermore, as long-run income elasticity in NATO countries is lower than the short-run one, the EKC hypothesis is valid. Based on the overall findings, the study suggests that NATO allies should incorporate the benefits of income growth and technological development into their environmental policies to offset the negative effects of MEX.

The impact of economics and urbanization on marine fisheries sustainability in Atlantic coastal Africa

The sustainability and management of marine environment and resources, especially fish stocks and fisheries, are issues drawing considerable attention internationally because fishing is the most direct anthropogenic factor affecting the ocean's structure, function and biodiversity. As the impacts of fisheries on ecosystems cannot be fully assessed by examining catches of only a single species, this paper incorporates mean trophic level (TLm), relative primary production required (%PPR), and loss in secondary production index (L index) to quantify fisheries expansion and limitation and to measure the ecological footprint of fisheries. It also constructs a pathway model based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis to assess ecosystem-level impacts by analyzing how economic growth and urbanization affect the structural diversity of marine ecosystems to examine the more complete processes associated with marine resource depletion. Our results indicate that increased urbanization and biodiversity conservation are compatible goals, but economic growth would degrade marine ecosystems. These results raise important questions about the abiotic factors that influence overexploitation and biodiversity decline and highlight the importance of considering social and economic factors in developing sustainable fisheries management policy.

Refugee Population and Environmental Quality in Sweden and Lebanon: Is Fertility Rate Changing the Dynamics?

Arising from the arrays of man-made factors (including political- and socioeconomic-related factors) and natural disasters across the globe, population displacement, as one of the consequences of the above-mentioned factors, has continued to trigger refugee populations. This is the reason Lebanon (with the highest number of refugees per total population in the world) and Sweden (with the highest number of refugees per total population in Europe) are considered in a comparative investigation. Importantly, this study examines the environmental effect of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions via the refugee population and fertility rate, alongside the roles of income and natural resource abundance, from 1990 to 2021. The results reveal that fertility rates spur GHG emissions, thereby hampering environmental sustainability in both countries. While the refugee population mitigates GHG emissions in Sweden, the effect is contrary and environmentally damaging in Lebanon. The disparity in the countries’ environmental proactiveness, which has supposedly permeated societal values, especially in Sweden, could have influenced the above result. Meanwhile, in both countries, the refugee populations moderate the effect of the fertility rate, increasing the environmental demerit of the increase in the fertility rate. However, the Swedish income level improvement helps mitigate GHG emissions, thus validating the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the long run. In Sweden, the natural resource abundance also promotes environmental benefit. Contrarily, in Lebanon, increases in both the natural resource abundance and income per person increase GHG emissions, thus worsening the environmental quality. Finally, this study offers policy recommendations for improving refugee programs.

Investigating the nexus between energy consumption, industrialization, urbanization, economic growth, and Carbon dioxide emission: Panel data analysis from the Belt and Road Initiative countries

An increase in urbanization rises the use of energy in urban areas which leads to high carbon dioxide discharge and worsen environmental quality. Industrialization and economic growth are also linked with environmental quality and thus need to investigate the effect of these factors on environmental quality. This study uses panel data from 1976 to 2019 and investigate the nexus between urbanization, industrialization, economic growth, energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in the belt and road initiative countries using static and dynamic panel models. The findings reveals that the effect of urbanization, energy consumption, industrialization and economic growth on carbon dioxide emission is positive and it reduce environmental quality however, international trade significantly reduce carbon dioxide emission. This study further confirms the existence of a U-shape link between urbanization and carbon dioxide while the square term of economic growth doesn’t validate the Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. The findings of this study have considerable policy suggestions regarding carbon emission mitigation in term of urbanization, energy use, industrialization and economic growth.

Optimization of renewable energy supply for a carbon neutral society: Role of environmental regulations, sustainable finance, and financial innovation through the lens of game theory

Nations maximize green technologies and renewable energy to address climate change and reach sustainable development goals. As a result of the Paris Climate Agreement, several countries have made reducing or eliminating their carbon footprints a primary priority. Using a game theoretical perspective, this article analyses empirical data from 2011 to 2021 to determine the impact that renewable energy, environmental regulation, sustainable finance, and financial innovation will have on the ability to emerge from Asian nations in order to achieve a carbon‐neutral society. The cross‐section dependence, panel unit root, and augmented mean group tests confirmed the zero‐carbon environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. As a result, it is observed that the availability of renewable energy, environmental regulations, sustainable finance, and financial innovation greatly cut carbon emissions and boosts national capabilities to reach the carbon neutrality target. The reduction of sectoral risks and carbon emissions, as well as achieving a sustainable and carbon‐neutral society. It would be facilitated by nations capitalizing on and reinforcing these variables and expanding investment in green recovery.

Modelling Urbanization, Economic Growth, and Ecological Footprint Using Environment Kuznets' Curve in Selected Asian Countries

This paper examines the relationship between urbanization, economic growth, and environmental quality using environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The hypothesized link is tested using time-series analysis of 10 selected Asian countries over the period 1990–2018. First, the EKC hypothesis is tested through examining the relationship between EF, GDP, and URB. Further, the long-run relationship between EF, URB, and GDP is investigated using a vector error correction model. It was found that there is a cointegrated relationship between the variables in the countries China, Malaysia, and Thailand. Additionally, almost all error correction terms are correct in sign and are significant, which implies that some percentage of disequilibrium in EF in the previous year adjusts back to the long-run equilibrium in the current year. Therefore, an efficient trade-off between environmental protection and economic benefits should be taken, and EF should be reduced through changing consumption patterns, improving the efficiency of use of resources and cleaner technology choices.

The dynamic link between eco-innovation and ecological footprint in India: does the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hold?

PurposeThe eco-innovation is considered one of the possible ways to tackle climate change. However, the conflicting empirical evidence related to the role of eco-innovation on environmental quality becomes a motivation to explore the effect of eco-innovation on environmental degradation proxied by ecological footprint. Besides, it controls economic growth, remittance inflows, trade openness and total energy consumption in the environmental degradation function.Design/methodology/approachUses the Augmented Auto Regressive Distributed Lag (AARDL) approach to examine the cointegration relation among the series during the period ranging from 1975 to 2017 for India within the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework.FindingsThe result suggests that eco-innovation can mitigate climate change by reducing the ecological footprint. Similarly, economic growth reduces the ecological footprint in the short- and long-run. However, the square of economic growth is positive and significant. Thus, it shows evidence against the conventional EKC hypothesis. The results also reveal that remittance inflows have an insignificant negative role on the ecological footprint, while total energy consumption and trade openness harm the environment by enhancing the ecological footprint.Practical implicationsThis study provides important implications for climate change mitigation. Thus, the government should promote eco-innovation to mitigate climate change by offering a favorable legal environment to the firms to adopt the same in their production and consumption activities. It also suggests that initiatives like green strategies should give serious attention while incurring research expenditure.Originality/valueNo prior studies assess the impact of eco-innovation on the ecological footprint for the period of 1975–2017 in India.

Heterogeneous effects of urbanization and environment Kuznets curve hypothesis in Africa

AbstractThis work explores the heterogeneous effect of urbanization and nonrenewable energy consumption on the environment in 54 African nations. Panel data were used from 1996 to 2019. For estimation, panel quantile regression analysis, augmented mean group, panel threshold regression, and the environment Kuznets curve hypothesis were applied to check the relationship between income and carbon emissions. The study's outcome demonstrates that urbanization and nonrenewable energy consumption degrade the environment in Africa. Furthermore, an inverted U‐shape relationship exists between economic growth and CO2 emissions, confirming the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis. The findings indicate that urbanization should be planned; otherwise, urbanization can cause environmental degradation. African countries must adopt green urbanization and use renewable energy and clean manufacturing technologies. The institutions are encouraged to execute the standard, regulatory environment, and policies to reduce carbon emissions. Countries throughout the African continent should actively respond to the issues by charting a separate and diverse route for urban development.

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypothesis in China: A Review

China is the largest total pollution emitter country on the globe and a vast literature has investigated the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in China. Thus, we aim to review empirical studies on the testing of the EKC hypothesis using different pollution proxies and area samples in China. The EKC hypothesis can be validated by establishing an inverted U-shaped or an N-shaped relationship between pollution and economic growth. In this review of the Chinese literature, the validity of the EKC hypothesis is found more often than its absence. In comparison, a higher proportion of the studies validated the EKC hypothesis using global pollution proxies compared with local pollution proxies. Moreover, a greater percentage of the studies substantiated the EKC hypothesis using Chinese provincial and city-level data compared with aggregate national data. To validate these findings, we applied logistic regression, and the chance of the validity of the EKC hypothesis was found to be 5.08 times higher than the absence of the EKC if a study used a global pollution proxy. Moreover, the chance of the existence of the EKC hypothesis was found to be 4.46 times higher than the nonexistence of the EKC if a study used Chinese provincial, city, sectoral, or industrial data.

Do natural resource dependence, economic growth and transport energy consumption accelerate ecological footprint in the most innovative countries? The moderating role of technological innovation

Climate change coupled with environmental degradation is primary concern of the modern society. Natural resource dependence has been widely recognized as a principal stimulator of environmental degradation. However, little is known whether natural resource dependence may take part in environmental sustainability of the most innovative countries via the channel of technological innovation. Against this backdrop, this study aims to explore whether natural resource dependence, transport energy consumption, economic growth, and technological innovation explain ecological footprint of the seven most innovative countries under the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework in the period from 1990 through 2018. This study utilizes both, the patent applications and research, development and demonstration budget as proxies for the technological innovation. By employing panel Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), this study’s outcomes outlined that both transport energy consumption and natural resource dependence significantly increase ecological footprint while technological innovation reduces environmental degradation. Moreover, empirical findings of this study verified the legitimacy of EKC hypothesis. Additionally, natural resource dependence with interactive term of technological innovation provided evidence to reduce the harmful environmental effect of natural resources. The findings are robust to the selection of technological innovation proxy variable. The present empirical outcomes shed new light on the key role of technological innovation in attaining environmental sustainability clearly outlining that the most innovative countries should align the natural resources use, economic growth and transport energy consumption with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

An Assessment of Water-Energy-Food Nexus for Environmental Sustainability: The Case of Developing Economics

This study examines the water-energy-food nexus for environmental sustainability using panel data of developing economies from 1995-2017. Food index has been constructed using principle component analysis (PCA). Two-step difference generalized method of moment has been employed to estimate four models for assessment of the nexus in 77 developing economies from 1995-2017. Results indicate that the water, energy and food are closely related to each other as one sector affects the productivity of the remaining two sectors. Energy use and food index have strong positive effects on water productivity in developing economies. The environmental degradation of developing economies analyzed through the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis confirms the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth for developing economies. Study suggests that an integrated policy is required for the management of energy, water and food resources to avoid the water scarcity and food insecurity in the developing world.

Resource productivity and environmental degradation in EU-27 countries: context of material footprint

This study explores the relationship between the resource productivity and environmental degradation in European Union-27 countries. This study tests this relationship in context of high, moderate, and low material footprint sub-samples; these samples are formed utilizing the expectation–maximization machine learning algorithm. Using the panel data set of EU-27 countries from 2000 to 2020, linear and non-linear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) are applied for the symmetric and asymmetric evidence and to test environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), linear ARDL with the quadratic function is included. Results of the symmetric relationship find evidence of resource productivity’s impact on the environmental degradation. In full sample of EU-27, both symmetric and asymmetric methods show that the short run and long run increase of resource productivity lower the environmental degradation. Only long run asymmetric relationship in high material footprint subsamples supports that the resource productivity controls environmental degradation. Results of moderate material footprint sub-sample are mixed. However, low material footprint countries show that resource productivity in long run controls the environmental degradation in symmetry and only positive resource controls productivity in short run in asymmetric relationship. The reason for mixed results is the quadratic nature of sub-samples. EKC hypothesis is validated in moderate and low material footprint sub-samples. This research has many policy implications.