Indicators Of Environmental Degradation Research Articles

Do circular economy, renewable energy, industrialization, and globalization influence environmental indicators in belt and road initiative countries?

This paper is the first comprehensive research to examine the effect of circular economy on environment employing two environmental degradation indicators (CO2 emissions, ecological footprint) and one environmental quality indicator (load capacity factor) for 57 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries during 2000-2019. The effect of other variables such as renewable energy, industrialization, and globalization was also controlled. The study applied the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag method (CS-ARDL), the augmented mean group (AMG), and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) methods as a robustness checks. The empirical findings reveal that circular economy and renewable energy have pro-environmental effects by decreasing carbon emissions and ecological footprint and increasing the load capacity factor in BRI countries. However, industrialization and globalization have detrimental effects on the environment. The result of causality shows a bidirectional causality between renewable energy, circular economy, industrialization, and three environmental indicators, but the relationship of globalization with CO2 emissions and the load capacity factor is unidirectional and with the ecological footprint is bidirectional. All the results are confirmed by the robustness tests. The study suggests policy implications for the BRI government.

Balancing growth and sustainability: The long‐run impact of financial and technological innovations on India's ecological footprint

AbstractThis study examines the effects of financial and technological innovations on India's ecological footprint—a comprehensive indicator of environmental degradation. Although previous research has addressed the individual impacts of these innovations, their collective influence has not been thoroughly investigated. Using data from 1973 to 2018 and employing ARDL Bounds and Bayer‐Hanck cointegration tests, we find a long‐run relationship between innovations, economic growth, energy consumption, and the ecological footprint. Notably, while the short‐term impact of innovations appears detrimental, both financial and technological innovations demonstrate a long‐term beneficial effect on the environment, which suggests that initial investments in innovation may have short‐term environmental costs, but ultimately contribute to environmental improvement. Additionally, this study confirms the harmful long‐term effects of energy consumption and economic growth on the environment. These findings underscore the importance of transitioning to cleaner energy sources, improving energy efficiency, and implementing robust environmental policies to foster sustainable development in India.

The impact of aggregated and disaggregated fisheries production and licensed fishermen on fishing grounds footprint: A time series analysis

This study has examined the factors of fishing grounds footprint in Malaysia during 1961–2018, which has been used as the indicator of environmental degradation. The main contribution of this paper is that we have considered the role of aggregated and disaggregated fisheries production on pollution in the fishing industry. Another contribution of this study is that the environmental impact of activities of licensed fishermen has been examined. The results suggest that the total fisheries production and its components- capture fisheries production and aquaculture production generate an increase in fishing grounds footprint in Malaysia. The results suggest that an increase in total licensed fishermen facilitate an increase in fishing grounds footprint. There is mixed evidence on the impact of local fishermen on fishing footprint. The results indicate that an increase in foreign fishermen facilitate an increase in fishing grounds footprint. The results suggest mixed evidence for Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis.

The impact of natural resources on environmental degradation: a review of ecological footprint and CO2 emissions as indicators

Environmental degradation resulting from the overexploitation of natural resources has become a pressing global concern. This review paper aims to investigate the relationship between natural resources and environmental degradation, with a specific focus on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and ecological footprint (EF) as indicators. The study method involved an exhaustive search across prominent research databases, including ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, and Springer, using carefully defined search terms. A total of more than 160 research papers related to the search terms were obtained from the four sources of the database during the initial search. After applying sorting, filtering, and removing duplication and repetitions, we were left with 75 research papers that had a direct link to the topic under investigation. From these 75 papers, we further applied inclusion criteria to identify the most relevant studies for our review, resulting in the final inclusion of 50 research papers. The selected papers were thoroughly assessed for their methodological robustness, relevance, and adherence to the research questions. The review encompasses studies from diverse geographical regions and periods, shedding light on both positive and negative associations between natural resources and the two key indicators of environmental degradation (CO2 emissions and EF). The review identified diverse findings in the literature, highlighting both positive and negative associations between natural resources and environmental degradation indicators (CO2 and EF). The results of this comprehensive review will contribute to a better understanding of the complex interplay between natural resources and environmental sustainability and will offer valuable insights for policymakers and researchers alike.

Achieving ecological sustainability in European Union: The role of fiscal decentralization and green innovation

European Union member states are dedicated to bring standards and create climate change mitigation strategies at the center stage of public policy, prioritizing energy sector's transition from non-renewable to renewable sources by the means of innovation. Though there are a plethora of studies on determinants of environmental degradation, the nexus between fiscal decentralization and ecological intensity has been lacking of empirical evidence. To bridge this shortcoming, this study aspires to investigate the direct impact of fiscal decentralization, economic abundance, human capital, energy use and green innovation on environmental degradation and how green innovation moderates the impact of fiscal decentralization on environmental degradation. Using the theoretical setting of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) phenomenon, this study analyzes the determinants of environmental degradation measured by ecological intensity and carbon intensity respectively across the nine European Union member states over the time span from 1995 to 2018. This study built upon a panel Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) with fixed effects and the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression with Driscoll-Kraay (DK) standard errors to validate the appropriateness of the EKC hypothesis in the observed sample authenticating the inverted U-shaped pattern between economic abundance and environmental degradation. Insofar as the direct impacts are considered, human capital and green innovation are efficient in abating environmental degradation of the countries under examination whereas energy use and fiscal decentralization aid in to environmental degradation. Regarding the indirect impacts, green innovation negatively moderates the association between fiscal decentralization and both indicators of environmental degradation namely, ecological intensity and carbon intensity. In the light of these findings, it is imperative for European Union member states to authorize the local governments to reduce pollution through innovation in climate change mitigation technologies to reinforce the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 12.

Socio-Environmental Overview of The Main Sugarcane Producing Municipalities in Sergipe Between the Years of 2001 and 2022

Objective: Analysis of the socio-environmental situation of the main sugarcane producing municipalities in the state of Sergipe, in the period between 2001 and 2022. Theoretical Framework: Sugarcane cultivation represents an important economic role for communities and countries that produce this commodity. In this scenario, Brazil emerges as the main sugarcane producer on the planet and, along with the benefits arising from the agro-industrial sugarcane production chain, there are socio-environmental problems arising from the anthropization of the landscape and natural resources allocated in the production of co-products of this culture that need to be reviewed in light of climate emergencies and the demands of different social actors. Method: The research has an exploratory nature, using scientific articles available from Science Direct and Capes Periodical Platform and secondary data collected on the Mapbiomas and Terrabrasilis platforms. Results and conclusions: The results showed the dissonance between the global analysis of environmental degradation indicators, such as fires and deforestation, and the data relating to each municipality analyzed. And it was concluded that there is an urgent need to re-analyze public policies for monitoring and controlling socio-environmental indicators in order to contain the anthropization processes caused by sugarcane cultivation. Implications of the research: This research allows us to clearly understand the socio-environmental dynamics caused by sugarcane cultivation in the main sugarcane producing municipalities of Sergipe, in order to contribute to a realistic debate on the current stage of environmental degradation and on the construction of the near future due to social and environmental demands arising from changes in the climate. Originality/value: No analysis was found on the set of municipalities studied based on the main agricultural crop produced, which implies a scenario of exploration that is not only reflective and political but also open to new work that can be developed in each of these municipalities separately, or together, with the purpose of bringing quality of life and conscious and environmentally appropriate development to the communities in this group of municipalities and to the state of Sergipe.

WATER QUALITY INDEX PREDICTION

Water is perhaps the most precious natural resource after air. Though the surface of the earth mostly consists of water, only a small part of it is usable, which makes this resource limited. This Precious and limited resource, therefore, must be used with care. As water is required for different purposes, the suitability of it must be checked before use. Also, sources of water must be monitored regularly to determine whether they are in sound health or not. Poor condition of water bodies are not only the indicator of environmental degradation, it is also a threat to the ecosystem. In industries improper quality of water may cause hazards and severe economic loss. Thus, the quality of water is very important in both environmental and economic aspects. Thus, water quality analysis is essential for using it for any purpose. After years of research, water quality analysis now consists of some standard protocols. There are guidelines for sampling, preservation and analysis of the samples. Here the standard chain of action is discussed briefly so that it may be useful to the analysts and researchers.

Evaluating the impact of technological innovation and energy efficiency on load capacity factor: empirical analysis of India.

The determinants of environmental degradation have been investigated many times by utilizing carbon dioxide emissions and/or ecological footprint. However, these traditional environmental degradation indicators do not consider the supply side of environmental problems. Therefore, this study focuses on the dynamic influence of financial development, energy efficiency, economic growth, and technological innovation on environmental degradation in India through the load capacity factor, including both the supply and demand sides of environmental problems. For that purpose, the recently developed dynamically simulated autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is employed using the annual time-series data extending from 1980-2020. The dynamically simulated ARDL results demonstrate that financial development, economic growth, and technological innovation have a dynamic adverse impact on the load capacity factor, whereas energy efficiency has a positive dynamic influence on environmental quality. In addition, the results support the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis as the negative effect of economic growth on environmental quality decreases over time. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations are provided for India. Finally, this study utilizing load capacity factor as an indicator for environmental quality will provide new topics in exploring the determinants of environmental degradation.

How Do Natural Resource Rents Affect the Ecological Footprint? A Study for 24 Nations

The main objective of this study was to analyse the disaggregated effect of natural resource rents on the ecological footprint in 24 countries. The impact of rents from oil, natural gas and minerals was examined. Using the CS-ARDL approach, it was found that these natural resources increase the ecological footprint, albeit by different amounts. For example, oil rents have a greater impact on the environment than natural gas and mineral rents. The latter generate less environmental pollution. In addition, using the approach of Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012), a bidirectional relationship was found between oil rents and the ecological footprint. A similar result was obtained between mineral rents and this indicator of environmental degradation. This implies that, if countries decide to reduce their ecological footprint, the rents they derive from these resources will be affected. Therefore, it is essential that nations promote environmentally friendly natural resource extraction practices, using advanced technologies aligned with sustainable development principles. In the case of natural gas rents, these were found to cause an impact on the ecological footprint without feedback effects. This means that countries can be sure that decreasing their ecological footprint will not have an economic impact in relation to the rents they earn from natural gas. Therefore, countries are encouraged to continue to promote the sustainable extraction of this resource.

Industrialization, globalization, ICT, and environmental degradation in Malaysia: A frequency domain analysis

This paper examines the causal relationship between industrialization, globalization, information communication technology (ICT) and environmental degradation in Malaysia during 1970–2019. It uses two indicators of environmental degradation (carbon emissions and ecological footprint), three dimensions of globalization (political, social, and economic) and three indicators of ICT (users of internet, mobile cellular, and fixed telephone subscriptions). It utilizes Granger causality technique in frequency domain which differentiates between permanent and temporary causality, Vector Error Correction approach as well as Variance Decompositions. The bound test shows that the variables have cointegration relationship. It reveals joint long-run and short-run causality from industrialization, globalization, and ICT to carbon emissions, albeit the causality to ecological footprint is tenuous. It indicates that industrialization, globalization, and ICT significantly predict carbon emissions at high frequency than at low frequency. A substantial percentage of the forecast error variance in environmental degradation are explained by industrialization, globalization, and ICT. The robustness of the empirical outcomes is confirmed by the alternative proxies of the variables. Our study implies that industrialization, globalization, and ICT are determinants of environmental degradation. Therefore, policies to mitigate environmental problem should prioritize these variables to attain green economy.

Military Expenditure, Governance, and Environmental Degradation in Sub-Saharan Africa

This article examines how good governance counteracts the effects of military expenditure on carbon emissions in forty African countries. The Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) is used to analyze time series data from 2010 to 2020. Military expenditure per capita is used to measure military expenditure per penetration, while CO2 emissions per capita are used as an indicator of environmental degradation. The following findings are established. First, from the non-interactive regressions, we find suggestive evidence that arms expenditure increases CO2 emissions. All indicators of good governance contribute to the increase of CO2 emissions. Second, with interactive regressions, we find that improved governance has a negative effect on CO2 emissions per capita. Third, the results are robust to a sensitivity check, considering the synergy effects of governance. This paper provides policy recommendations on low-carbon economies, military expenditure and governance that could help to ensure environmental sustainability by reducing CO2 emissions. In addition, the study findings can provide guidance to other developing countries seeking to implement effective approaches to environmental sustainability while strengthening climate change mitigation and adaptation measures.

The dynamic role of green technological innovation, financial development and trade openness on urban environmental degradation in China: Fresh insights from carbon efficiency

Research has established that green technological innovation, financial development, and trade openness are factors that contribute to environmental degradation in China. The current study endeavoured to move the efforts in the direction of enhancing the understanding of the use of carbon efficiency as an indicator of environmental degradation instead of traditional CO2 emissions or ecological footprint. The recently developed dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag simulations (DARDLS) approach is employed for the annual time series data from 1990 to 2018 to perform the empirical investigation. Results from the DARDLS indicated that both green technological innovation and financial development positively affected carbon efficiency in the long term in China. On the other hand, trade openness exacerbated the environmental problem in both short and long run. While the public is increasingly attending to controlling environmental degradation, these findings suggest that it would be essential for policymakers to develop more initiatives to increase green technological innovation and financial development to mitigate environmental degradation in China. Finally, the use of carbon efficiency as an indicator of environmental degradation in the current study will contribute new ideas to the existing body of knowledge in examining the factors affecting environmental degradation.

Examination of the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in Sub-Saharan Africa

The relationship between environmental degradation and poverty has increasingly become the focus of national strategic decision-making in recent years. However, despite several theoretical explorations on the nexus, a dearth of empirical literature on the poverty-environmental degradation nexus, specifically on Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), still exists. In this study, we investigated the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in SSA. We hypothesized that poverty is both a cause and effect of environmental degradation, and this relationship is explained as a vicious cycle. Unlike previous studies, we employed several alternative indicators of environmental degradation to examine the poverty-environmental degradation nexus in this study. We used data from 41 countries of SSA between 1996 and 2019 and employed the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach. The findings suggest a cyclical relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in SSA, which confirms that an increase in poverty leads to an increase in environmental degradation, especially in deforestation and PM2.5 emissions. Similarly, the increase in environmental degradation positively affects poverty in SSA. We also confirmed that exogenous conditioning factors such as population growth rate, education, industrialization, and income inequality, institutional quality indicators such as governance effectiveness, control of corruption, freedom ad civil liberty, and democracy, and endogenous factors including fossil fuel energy use, fuelwood energy use, household health expenditure, infant mortality rate, and agriculture productivity influence the nexus between poverty and environmental degradation. The findings on the relationship between poverty and environmental degradation in SSA are a testimonial evidence that both poverty and environmental degradation are significant issues in SSA. Hence, poverty alleviation policies in SSA should not lead to PM2.5 emissions and deforestation, which may as well force people into a poverty-environmental degradation trap. Instead, poverty reduction policies should simultaneously achieve environmental conservation.

Relationship Between Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation in Peru, Period 1990-2019

Objective: The objective of this research is to analyze the relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation through a regression model for the Peruvian case, during the period 1990-2019, based on Georgescu Roegen's Bioeconomy; who explains that, in environmental terms, economic growth seems to be more of a problem than a solution. Method: The quantitative approach was considered, of a non-experimental type, with a descriptive and correlational design; where secondary source information from the World Bank database was used. Results: According to the results obtained, it is concluded that the variable with the most relationship or that best explains economic growth is energy consumption, followed by CO2 emissions; indicators of environmental degradation explain 24% of economic growth, being a model without problems of heteroscedasticity or autocorrelation; the level of individual significance in all cases is less than 5% and according to the proposed model it is necessary to; if CO2 emissions increase, PBI per capita would increase by 19% and if energy consumption increases, PIB per capita would increase by 20%. Conclusions: Finally, it was possible to contrast the hypothesis that there is a direct and significant relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation.

Stationarity and convergence of LCF series

The ongoing industrial activities in the USA have created environmental pressure, which is being reflected on its biocapacity and ecological footprint. The policymakers are in pursuit of policy maneuvers to control this level of environmental degradation. Load Capacity Factor (LCF) is a comprehensive indicator of environmental degradation, and analyzing its nature of convergence might reveal the efficacy of these policies. The present study assesses the convergence of LCF by testing its unit root properties using a stepwise integration order testing framework including univariate tests, time-domain accounting for additive outliers and breaks in the intercept as well as the Koenker and Xiao (2004) quantile autoregressive unit root testing procedure. Empirical findings of the study suggest that the LCF shows a sign of convergence in all the cases, including the presence of structural breaks.

Pakistan's safe nuclear energy generation: An essential source to target sustainable development

This research examines the roles of nuclear energy generation, primary energy use, and finance on economic growth and environmental degradation in Pakistan using the extended period between 1972 and 2020. To this end, the study adopted a mix of conventional and third-generation econometric approaches that can counter structural breaks and also applied the VECM-based Granger causal test in the Seemingly Unrelated Regression (SUR) framework to detect the causal linkages. The Maki cointegration test supported an equilibrium association between the modelled variables. The coefficients of long-run estimates reveal that nuclear energy accelerates the country's economic growth. Similarly, it is a compelling element in curbing environmental pollution. Finance and trade openness support economic growth and are proven indicators of environmental degradation in Pakistan. The causal results indicated that nuclear energy is causing the environment and economic growth unidirectionally, while primary energy consumption bidirectionally causes the environment. Finally, the study results have proposed significant policy proposals for the policymakers for their theory, knowledge and practice.

Testing the Short, Medium, and Long-Term Effects of Shocks on Ecological Balance.

Ecological balance is an indicator of environmental degradation, which is computed as the difference between biocapacity and ecological footprint. In this study, we examine whether the effect of shocks on the ecological balance is permanent or temporary in the EU-15 countries, considering the period from 1961 to 2018. The application of unit root tests, with and without a Fourier function, indicates that the effects of shocks are temporary in only four countries. To reveal the persistence of shocks at different frequencies, that is, the short-, medium-, and long-run, we decomposed the ecological balance series by using the Discrete Wavelet Transform method. The unit root test results show that the effects of shocks are temporary in all countries in the short-run. However, the results also show that the shocks are temporary in nine countries in the medium-run and ten countries in the long-run. Thus, the implemented policies to balance ecology are not effective in the short-run but are effective in only six countries in the medium-term and in only five countries in the long-term. These findings demonstrate the importance of considering different frequencies when testing the effectiveness of empirically implemented policies. Regarding policy implications, this study suggests focusing on medium- and long-term environmental policies rather than short-term ones.

Tamarugite, NaAl(SO4)2·6H2O, as a valuable indicator of soil degradation in a Spanish coastal wetland receiving acidic leachates from spilled mine waste

This paper documents the first occurrence of tamarugite in a Spanish coastal wetland registered as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, and discusses its origin and environmental significance. Tamarugite occurs as bladed crystals in efflorescent coatings on the topsoil of marshy areas, alongside an abandoned mining railroad. Tamarugite formation is described as a sequential process involving: (1) Oxidative dissolution of pyrite ore spilled on the former railway tracks and generation of acidic sulfate-rich waters; (2) decomposition of layer minerals under acidic conditions and release of Al3+ ions into solution; (3) interaction between acid discharges and estuarine water during flood tidal periods; and (4) precipitation of tamarugite and associated sulfate salts (sideronatrite, epsomite, pickeringite) under strongly evaporative conditions. These transient minerals have potential to release acid and associated major elements (Al, Fe, Mg, Na, S) and trace metals (e.g. Zn) into the solution causing detrimental effects. The occurrence of tamarugite is, therefore, a valuable indicator of environmental degradation in wetland ecosystems.

The effect of water footprint and economic growth on environmental degradation: applications of optimization modeling

Abstract In this study, the effect of economic growth, energy consumption, biological capacity, and trade liberalization on the economic water footprint of consumption as an indicator of environmental degradation was investigated. An optimization framework was developed to find the maximum values of economic water footprint based on environmental, ecological, energy, and technical constraints. The results of the study showed that the simulated relationship can be used together to estimate long-term relationships between variables, there is a positive and significant relationship between ecological footprint and biological capacity and a negative and significant relationship between trade globalization and economic water footprint. The middle form of the ecological footprint N also increases energy consumption leading to an increase in the economic water footprint. Moreover, the results showed that there is a relationship with economic growth, and this indicates that the increase in economic growth in this region will lead to further destruction of the environment.

Changes in environmental degradation parameters in Bangladesh: The role of net savings, natural resource depletion, technological innovation, and democracy

Most researchers consider CO2 emissions to be the primary indicator of environmental degradation. Similarly, ecological footprint appears to be a significant proxy for environmental degradation in recent research due to its multifaceted impact on the natural environment. With this in mind, this study investigates fluctuations in CO2 emissions and ecological footprint as indicators of environmental degradation in Bangladesh from 1980 to 2020, and how they are influenced by net savings, natural resource depletion, technological innovation, and democracy. The non-linear ARDL (NARDL)-based asymmetric analysis finds that positive changes in net savings, natural resource depletion, and democracy positively impact both parameters of environmental degradation in the long run. On the other hand, a positive change in technological innovation reduces these parameters in the long run. Likewise, negative changes in net savings and technological innovation reduce environmental degradation. In contrast, negative changes in natural resource depletion and democracy exacerbate these two parameters and degrade environmental quality in the long run. However, there are some variations in the short-run influence of the predictors on the predicted variable. Overall, the findings of this study suggest that policymakers must strategically exploit natural resources, net savings, technology diffusion, and democratic principles to preserve the natural environment in Bangladesh.