Environmental Kuznets Curve Model Research Articles

Have Agricultural Land-Use Carbon Emissions in China Peaked? An Analysis Based on Decoupling Theory and Spatial EKC Model

Assessing the emission-peaking process of agricultural land use provides valuable insights for mitigating global warming. This study calculated agricultural land-use carbon emissions (ALUCEs) in China from 2000 to 2020 and explored the peaking process based on quantitative criteria. Further, we applied the Tapio decoupling index and environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model to discuss the robustness of the peaking process. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) From 2000 to 2020, China’s average ALUCEs were 368.1 Mt C-eq (1349.7 CO2-eq), peaking at 396.9 Mt C-eq (1455.3 Mt CO2-eq) in 2015 before plateauing. Emissions from agricultural materials and soil management had entered the declining period, while those from rice cultivation were in the peaking period, those from straw burning were still rising, and those from livestock breeding remained at the plateauing phase. (2) The provinces of Beijing, Tianjin, and nine others saw a decline in ALUCEs, while Hainan, Guizhou, and another nine provinces observed plateauing, and Ningxia, Qinghai, and six other provinces experienced peaking. (3) Decoupling analysis confirmed that emission-peaking states remained stable even with agricultural growth. Instead of an inverted U-shaped relationship, we found an N-shaped relationship between ALUCEs and agricultural GDP. The spatial EKC model indicated that the peaking process had spillover effects between provinces. It is recommended that China accelerate ALUCE mitigation based on the source and phase of emissions, considering the peaking process and magnitude.

Digitalization and net-zero carbon: The role of industrial robots towards carbon dioxide emission reduction

The increasing adoption of industrial robots has raised concerns about their potential impact on carbon dioxide emissions. To address this issue, this study investigates both the effect of industrial robot adoption on carbon dioxide emissions, as well as the mechanism through which this effect is transmitted using data from OECD and BRICS countries spanning from 1993 to 2015. In particular, we present three possible influence mechanisms of industrial robots on carbon dioxide emissions, namely, the economic growth effect, technological progress effect, and structural transformation effect. Employing the STIRPAT and environmental Kuznets curve models, we estimate the negative and significant effects of industrial robot adoption on carbon dioxide emissions, analyze their effect under different conditional distributions and in different countries, and verify the effect channels of industrial robots on carbon dioxide emissions using the stepwise regression method and the bootstrap method. The empirical results indicate that the increased use of industrial robots can significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, particularly at higher quantiles of emissions. Moreover, the negative impacts of industrial robot adoption on carbon dioxide emissions are more pronounced in OECD, developed, and European and American countries compared to BRICS, developing, and non-European and American countries. Finally, the adoption of industrial robots primarily achieves its impact on carbon dioxide emissions through the facilitation of an economic growth effect. This study fills a critical gap in the literature and provides a basis for policymakers and industry leaders to develop effective strategies to promote sustainable industrial development.

DOES THE DIGITAL ECONOMY CHANGE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ECONOMIC GROWTH AND CARBON EMISSIONS? EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE FROM 278 CITIES IN CHINA

The rise of the digital economy has had widespread and profound impacts on the economy and society. Extensive literature exists on digital economy and carbon emissions. However, there is a lack of literature focusing on the impact of the digital economy on the relationship between economic development and carbon emissions. This paper examines whether the digital economy has changed the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions using panel and spatial econometric modeling. Using a panel dataset of 278 prefecture-level cities in China for the period from 2011 to 2019, the results show that there is a significant inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions, which is consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model. Moreover, the digital economy brings the turning point forward. In terms of spatial decomposition effects, both direct and indirect effects of economic growth on carbon emissions are significant, suggesting that economic growth has a positive impact on carbon emissions both in local cities and in neighboring areas. Overall, these findings provide valuable policy insights for promoting the synergistic development of the digital economy and accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Assessing the Impacts of Technological Innovation on Carbon Emissions in MENA Countries: Application of the Innovation Curve Theory

This study investigates the relationship between technological innovation, renewable energy, economic growth, and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a group of six specific Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries from 1990 to 2019. The study utilizes the modified innovation environmental Kuznets curve model (ICC) theory to examine the potential existence of an inverted U-shaped curve between innovation and environmental quality in these selected MENA countries. Various econometric methods are employed to analyse the data. The results show a positive and significant impact of patents for residents on CO2 emissions, affirming the influence of patents on environmental quality. Additionally, the square of patents demonstrates a significant negative relationship with carbon emissions, providing evidence for the inverted U shape of Claudia’s theory. These findings imply that the ICC is relevant to the selected countries, with the quadratic patent variable suggesting that the use of innovative technology initially increases emissions but reaches a turning point after a certain threshold.

A study of the pathway to peak carbon in China

The achievement of the peak carbon target is a complex and comprehensive project that involves vari-ous aspects such as the economy, society, and ecological environment. At the same time as reaching the carbon peak, how to balance economic and social development has become an important issue. This study uses the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model to predict China’s carbon peaking situation. Three key parameters, namely carbon peaking, economy, and society, are selected, and relevant decision variables are established. A multi-objective planning model is developed to facilitate the coordinated development of carbon peaking, economy, and society, which is solved using a sequential algorithm. The results show that: China’s carbon emissions were 6928.905 million t in 2020 and are expected to reach the carbon peak in 2030. At the peak, the per capita gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to be 16 281.95 $, correspond-ing to a per capita CO2 emission of 9.66 t. During China’s carbon peak, the GDP is projected to be 23 249.58 billion $, with an arable land area of 121 747 510 ha and sulfur dioxide emissions of 180.64 million t, meeting the expected target values. However, certain indicators such as the ratio of three industries, energy consumption, rural residents’ per capita disposable income, and water consumption fall short of expected. Based on these findings, relevant countermeasures have been proposed for the realization path and key breakthroughs for China’s carbon peak.

Design and analysis of sustainable models for Qinling ecological protection and mining development

China geography, geology, climate, ecology, and cultural landscape are bounded to the north and south by the Qinling Mountains. It has several challenges, including the need to maintain its biodiversity and the need to accelerate economic development. Therefore, the mining area development and ecological community research has strong theoretical and practical significance. In this paper, we studies the Environmental Kuznets Curve, the key influencing factors in the model and a comprehensive strategy of green ecological development based on the three contradictions between environmental protection and mining development in Qinling Mountains. The result of the studies suggested that the solution of resource development, pollution control, and climate change concerns can be accomplished by employing four distinct classifications of enhanced and iterative intelligent, green, and low-carbon comprehensive technological systems. These systems are achievable through the implementation of an independence and self-enhancement strategy in advanced science and technology. Furthermore, the proposed model of Environmental Kuznets curve suggested that there are no significant effect on the sustainable development of mining industry and ecological protection. Moreover, the long-term effects of changes in the ecological and socio-economic environments on a given habitat, an assessment of the sustainability of the ecological environment is more comprehensive and systematic. Thus, the “life community” of ecological preservation and mineral resource development in Qinling is the consequence of the ecologically green civilization and provides the most vigor to the growth.

Synergy of ecological environment quality and economic development at industrial park level

Industrial Park is a part of urban development and plays an indispensable role in promoting regional economic development. However, the high consumption of resources and the concentrated emission of pollution pose a great threat to the ecological balance and human health. Therefore, the future of industrial park needs to be balanced with economic growth while realizing resource conservation and environmental improvement as much as possible. However, there is still a research gap in analyzing the relationship between ecological environment quality (EEQ) and economic development (ED) at the industrial park scale. This paper first constructs the new remote sensing ecological index (RSEInew) model to measure the EEQ of Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) from 2000 to 2020. Then this study constructs an ED index system to evaluate its economic situation. Finally, this paper utilizes the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model and the coupled coordination degree (CCD) model to deeply analyze the relationship between EEQ and ED. The results show that: (1) The average annual growth rate of EEQ in SIP is −1.50 %, with a general downward trend. Over the past 20 years, the ecological environment of SIP has not deteriorated extensively. (2) The ED of SIP is steady and rising, with an average annual growth rate of 10.17 %. (3) From 2000 to 2020, the EKC between EEQ and the ED of the SIP takes on an inverted “N” shape, with its CCD rising from barely coordinated to highly coordinated. This study can provide a reference for studying the quality development of areas at the industrial park level.

The net climate effect of digitalization, differentiating between firms and households

While public debate and prominent studies expect digitalization to substantially reduce energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, quantitative research has produced ambiguous results. This study addresses the challenges in the analysis of the relationship between a country’s digitalization level and CO2 emissions by employing the Group Fixed Effects estimator for panel data of EU and OECD countries and by differentiating between emissions associated with digitalization in firms and households.Results are highly robust to the statistical procedure and indicate that digitalization in both households and firms generally decreases emissions. At the sample median, a 10% increase in firm (household) level digitalization would, on average, decrease emissions by 0.3% (0.8%). In countries of the three lowest deciles in the income distribution, however, the effect is reversed: Here, an increase in digitalization is also associated with an increase in emissions.The results are further interpreted beyond the median effect and differentiate between countries of different incomes through a non-parametric approach. This analysis also has implications for the discussion of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, as the empirical analysis nests an estimation of an EKC model, extended by a measure of digitalization.

The role of economic freedom in achieving the environmental sustainability for the highest economic freedom countries: testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis.

In the study, the relationship between ecological footprint, economic freedom, renewable energy consumption, and economic growth is analysed under the scope of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. Here, fifteen countries with the highest economic freedom for the period 1996-2018 are selected to more clearly underline the impact of economic freedom on the environment and examined, i.e., Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, and Switzerland. The long-term relationship between the variables is examined using the panel cointegration test. According to the test results, it has been observed that the variables in the EKC model act together in the long run. According to the long-term estimation results, it is seen that economic freedom decreases the ecological footprint, namely, environmental degradation, in Canada, while it increases in Estonia. Furthermore, it is concluded that renewable energy reduces the ecological footprint in Australia, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Singapore, and Switzerland. Nevertheless, it has been determined that the EKC hypothesis is valid for Canada, Denmark, and Singapore, but not for other countries.

Driving forces and relationship between air pollution and economic growth based on EKC hypothesis and STIRPAT model: evidence from Henan Province, China.

The aim of this research is to analyze the main influencing factors and relationship between atmospheric environment and economic society. Using the panel data of 18 cities in Henan Province from 2006 to 2020, this paper employed some advanced econometric estimation included entropy method, extended environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and STIRPAT model to conduct empirical estimations. The results show that most regions in Henan Province have verified the existence of the EKC hypothesis; and the peak of air pollution level in all cities of Henan Province generally occurred in around 2014. Multiple linear Ridge regression indicated that the positive driving forces of air pollution in most cities in Henan Province are industrial structure and population size; the negative driving forces are urbanization level, technical level and greening degree. Finally, we used the grey GM (1, 1) model to predict the atmospheric environment of Henan Province in 2025, 2030, 2035 and 2040. What should pay close attention to is that air pollution levels in northeastern and central Henan Province will continue to remain high.

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.

Comprehensive distribution characteristics and risks of heavy metals in typical intertidal zones and their relationship with urban economic indicators

Human activities have increased heavy metal pollution in intertidal environments. However, the comprehensive ecological risks of heavy metals in the active zones and their relationship with urban economic indicators are still poorly understood. This study investigated the multiphase distribution characteristics of heavy metals (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cd) in 14 typical intertidal zones in the Guangdong–HongKong–Macao Greater Bay Area. The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals varied greatly among different cities, and the highest average concentrations in Dongguan city were 695.27, 243.79, 1482.36, 980.24, 66.36 and 4.95 mg.kg−1, respectively. The proportion of bioavailable state Cd was the highest as 54.20%, followed by Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Cr. The comprehensive ecological risks (RCER) of the two intertidal zones in Dongguan were 1.45 ∼ 7.70 times higher than those of other sampling areas, indicating a very high ecological risk. Correlation analysis showed that total organic carbon in surface water, ammonia nitrogen in pore water, and solid organic carbon and the proportion of clay in sediments were significantly correlated with RCER values, and the linear regression coefficients were 0.784, 0.919, 0.962 and 0.914, respectively. The modified environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) model was used to describe the relationship between RCER values and urban economic indicators, and an inverted U shaped curve relationship was found, indicating that regional heavy metal pollution seemed to have reached a peak and entered a period of emission reduction. Nevertheless, given the increasing proximity of the intertidal zone to human daily life, long-term follow-up assessments are recommended.

Risk communication in multistakeholder engagement: A novel spatial econometric model.

Existing studies on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) neglect the inverse effect of pollution transfer from environmental regulation interactions on pollution reduction from a risk analysis perspective. Based on the regional differentiated attitudes on the environmental regulation reached in risk communication by the risk awareness biases of multiple interest groups, this article clarifies the causality between risk communication and risk transfer based on multistakeholder engagement processes; furthermore, the article incorporates the simultaneous action of the technological innovation effect and pollution risk transfer effect to construct a spatial environmental hyperbolic model with a bidirectional correlation between pollution emissions and economic growth in different regions. To verify our model, we select the pollution from agricultural watersheds in China as a sample to examine the two inverse effects. The results demonstrate that (1) agricultural watershed pollution and economic growth show an inverted U-shaped relation and a U-shaped relation in the local region and adjacent regions, respectively; (2) the pollution reduction assessment of the classical EKC model can be largely attributed to pollution risk transfer behavior; and (3) the turning point of the U-shaped curve appears earlier than that of the inverted U-shaped curve in the spatial hyperbola model. The findings suggest that stakeholders should consider the risk awareness bias caused by the imbalance of regional economic development and the scenarios that provide a "haven" for pollution risk transfer. Moreover, our study expands the theoretical connotation of the classical EKC hypothesis and is more suitable for pollution reduction scenarios in developing countries.

Direct and spillover effects of new-type urbanization on CO2 emissions from central heating sector and EKC analyses: Evidence from 144 cities in China

The new-type urbanization which emphasizes urban infrastructure improvement, together with neighboring cities, may influence CO2 emissions of urban facilities and energy-intensive industrial sectors. This study analyzes the spillover effects of new-type urbanization on CO2 emissions of the central heating sector in northern China during 2012–2019. We measured the new-type urbanization from six dimensions, then built three spatial Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) models based on an extended stochastic impact by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) framework. Our results show that CO2 emissions at the city level increased by 18.0% for every 1% increase in that city's own new-type urbanization level, while decreasing by 7.58% for every 1% rise in the average new-type urbanization level of its neighboring cities. The results indicate an inverted “U-shaped” relationship between new-type urbanization and CO2 emissions, and the peak will be earlier due to the spillover effects of urbanization at the city level.

Analysis of the environmental impacts of the agricultural, industrial, and financial sectors in Malaysia

The mounting level of environmental degradation in Malaysia constitutes a grave issue to analysts and policymakers because it has adverse impact on climate change and human lives. This study is motivated by the dearth of a comprehensive research on the environmental impact of sectoral growth. It focuses on sectoral growth because of the need to strike a balance between the economic and environmental impacts of the agricultural, industrial, and financial sectors in Malaysia. Therefore, this study analyses the environmental impacts of the agricultural, industrial, and financial sectors in Malaysia during 1980–2018. It uses ecological footprint and carbon emissions as indicators of environmental degradation to properly capture various aspects of environmental degradation. It employs the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model and Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) procedure. This study contributes to the extant literature by showing that the agricultural, industrial, and market-based financial sectors aggravate carbon emissions while the bank-based financial sector mitigates carbon emissions in Malaysia. However, the impacts of the agricultural, industrial, and financial sectors on ecological footprint are tenuous. Though the EKC hypothesis is verified, energy consumption worsens ecological footprint and carbon emissions. The findings are robust to structural breaks and satisfactory diagnostic tests. This study implies that the agricultural, industrial, and financial sectors are significant determinants of carbon emissions. Since Malaysia cannot afford to sacrifice sectoral development for environmental sustainability, it is necessary for stakeholders to embrace environmental-friendly techniques that can boost sectoral development without compromising environmental quality.

Impact of religious tourism on the economic development, energy consumption and environmental degradation: evidence from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Diseño/metodología/enfoqueSe desarrolla la relación empírica entre las variables mediante el muestreo de los datos de 35 años que van de 1986 a 2020. La regresión entre las variables se comprobó empleando modelos de mínimos cuadrados ordinarios totalmente modificados (FMOLS) y mínimos cuadrados ordinarios dinámicos (DOLS)ObjetivoArabia Saudí es el principal destino de turismo religioso porque cuenta con numerosos lugares espirituales. Con el paso de los años, las cifras de visitas de peregrinos están aumentando, lo que contribuye al crecimiento económico del Reino de Arabia Saudí (KSA). Sin embargo, las visitas de los peregrinos pueden crear fuertes costes de oportunidad en forma de degradación medioambiental. A partir de estos indicadores, este análisis busca descubrir el impacto del turismo religioso en la calidad del entorno natural de Arabia Saudí.ConclusionesEl análisis demuestra que el turismo religioso tiene un impacto directo en la degradación medioambiental de KSA. Las incesantes visitas de los peregrinos aceleran diversas operaciones y actividades económicas, como la adquisición y consumo de productos industriales, etc., que necesariamente dificultan la calidad medioambiental. Además, el análisis indica un impacto negativo en el desarrollo financiero, la inversión extranjera y el consumo de energías renovables, así como el impacto de la asimilación de combustibles fósiles y la expansión económica en la emisión de CO2. Los resultados estadísticos son robustos y verifican la hipótesis del efecto halo de la contaminación, al tiempo que rechazan el modelo de la curva de Kuznets ambiental (EKC) en esta región.Limitaciones/implicaciones de la investigaciónEl análisis recomienda reestructurar las políticas sobre las visitas al hajj y la Umrah. El gobierno de KSA debería garantizar el consumo ecológico de los peregrinos. La limitación de las visitas de los peregrinos y la introducción de cuotas son políticas alternativas para impedir la contaminación en esta región.Originalidad/valorAl controlar los determinantes frecuentes, este estudio ofrece reflexiones innovadoras sobre las consecuencias del turismo religioso en la calidad del medio ambiente.

The role of government spending within the environmental Kuznets curve framework: evidence from G7 countries.

This study assesses the role of government spending on environmental sustainability based on a framework that combines the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis with the Armey curve hypothesis. Specifically, the inverted U-shaped relationships between carbon (CO2) emissions and economic growth (EKC hypothesis) and between government spending and economic growth (Armey curve hypothesis) are analyzed using a composite EKC model tested for cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity, panel unit root, panel co-integration, and the augmented mean group estimation. In so doing, this study pursues a potential transmission mechanism leading from government spending to CO2 emissions through the growth channel and presents a novel way to develop a better understanding of how economic growth policy and energy policy can be synchronized. Empirical results show that economic growth acts as a transmitter between government spending and CO2 emissions in the USA, UK, and Canada. However, the composite EKC hypotehesis is confirmed only for the USA and Canada, where the optimal level of government spending that maximizes CO2 emissions is 29.87% and 29.22% of GDP, respectively. In contrast, the optimal level of government spending equivalent to 28.30% of GDP minimizes CO2 emissions in the UK. The key policy implication is that governments can achieve sustainable economic growth by setting standards for their spending levels.

Carbon emissions, climate change, and Nigeria's agricultural productivity

This paper examined the impact of climate change through the carbon emissions channel on agricultural productivity in Nigeria. It adopted the transposed second-generation environmental Kuznets curve model, which defined growth (agricultural productivity) as a function of climate change. Data from world development indicators between 1960 and 2019 were utilized to examine the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity. The paper employed the bound test (ARDL) method. The result showed the existence of a long-run relationship between carbon emissions (proxy by CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and CO<sub>2</sub> intensity) and agricultural productivity (proxy by Agric.GDP, crop production index, and food production index) in Nigeria. The speed of adjustments is between 34% and 80%. Thus, a change in CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and intensity affects Agric.GDP differently, but CO<sub>2</sub> emissions and intensity negatively impacted crop and food production in Nigeria. The result implies that carbon emissions and carbon intensity cause decline and generates a dampening threat to Nigeria’s agricultural productivity through physical risk channels. By extension, the study concludes that carbon emission causes climate vulnerability that affects agricultural yields, production, and productivity. Carbon emissions results in low agricultural productivity which in turn disrupt food security as well as distort the poverty reduction strategy in the country. This study, therefore, recommends an equitable implementation of carbon pricing, adoption of mitigation policies, promotion of effective and efficient environmental laws, and the implementation of an appropriate abatement policy that jointly optimizes environmental stability and growth targets of the sustainable development goals.

Relationship between Water Use and per Capita Income with Environmental Kuznets Curve of Developing Countries: A Case Study in Jiangsu Province, China

The relationship between economic growth and environmental variation is an important issue of sustainable development for human beings, especially in developing countries. However, developing countries usually use the standards of developed countries when dealing with environmental issues, which makes the relationship exhibit different characteristics than it does in developed countries. In order to realize a balance relationship between water use and income per capita in developing countries, a multivariable environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) simulation model based on the grey absolute correlation method was modified to improve the description of the balance relationship between water use and per capita income in the Jiangsu Province of China from 2005 to 2017. The results showed that the industrial and agricultural water uses first increased and then decreased, which agreed with an inverted “U” characteristic. The industrial water use was in the declining stage of the inverted “U” characteristic, while the agricultural water use was in a transition phase of the inverted “U” characteristic. However, the domestic water use showed an increasing trend, and it is difficult to estimate whether it showed an inverted “U” characteristic. Simultaneously, different watershed partitions in Jiangsu Province presented different EKC characteristics. In the three different watershed zoning regions of Jiangsu Province, the total water use of the Tai Lake Basin and the Yangtze River Basin exhibited the typical inverted “U” characteristic, while the Huai River Basin was just in the increasing stage. Moreover, the improved multivariable EKC model was suitable to describe the inverted U-shaped variation characteristics of water use, and the developed model outperformed the univariate EKC model in the study area. Based on the characteristics of the EKC, policy ideas for enhancing the coordination among water resources, the economy, and the ecological environment were proposed in order to achieve sustainable development.

Economic Growth, Energy Mix, and Tourism-Induced EKC Hypothesis: Evidence from Top Ten Tourist Destinations

The tourism sector makes a sizable contribution to a country’s gross domestic product, increasing employment opportunities, foreign currency earnings, and economic diversification strategies. This paper uses the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model to analyze the effects of tourism on the environment in the world’s top 10 tourist countries from 1972 to 2021. Panel cointegration and second-generation unit root tests are suggested due to the presence of cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity. A cross-sectional-autoregressive-distributed lag (CS-ARDL) model is applied to evaluate the marginal influence of environmental variables other than tourism on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. These variables include fossil fuels, renewable energy, and nuclear energy. For the purpose of testing robustness, both the augmented mean group (AMG) and the common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimators are employed. The CS-ARDL supports the EKC hypothesis in the short run and long run, but it is not significant in the short run. The existence of EKC demonstrates that rising income leads to fewer CO2 emissions. All forms of environmental degradation can be accelerated by using fossil fuels. The results of this study indicate that CO2 emissions can be reduced by using renewable energy and nuclear energy. A rise in tourism activity has a positive impact on environmental quality. The best-attended tourist spots around the globe are those that, in the long run, implement clean energy-related technology and promote ecotourism.