• Energy Research

AbstractThis study examines the impacts of digitalization through information and communication technology (ICT) and environmental taxes on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 23 European Union (EU) countries between 2000 and 2017. Using the Pooled Mean Group estimator, the empirical results provide evidence that ICT development and environmental taxes improve environmental sustainability while research and development investments and income per capita deteriorate environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the results based on the Dynamic Panel Threshold Regression model show that the relationship between ICT and GHG emissions is dependent on the level of environmental taxes. During the period of low environmental taxes, the effect of ICT on GHG emissions is positive and insignificant but once environmental taxes cross the threshold value, the effect of ICT becomes negatively related to greenhouse gas emissions. This suggests that the period of low environmental taxes does not support the environmental friendliness of ICT development in the European region. The policy implication of these findings is that ICT, environmental taxes, and renewable energy can be possibly stirred up to achieve long‐term environmental sustainability in the EU region.

The economies of the emerging seven (E7) are not insulated from the climate change challenges, which is a key concern for most countries. The E7 nations have undertaken part in initiatives to combat climate change, particularly in terms of reducing CO2 emissions from the trajectory of productivity expansion in their countries. It is for this reason that this study examines the impact of resource volatility, renewable energy, and fossil fuel on both economic performance and CO2 emission from 1990 to 2018. The present study used panel quantile regression and Driscoll-Kraay fixed effect-OLS estimators to examine these associations. From model I, the outcome shows that economic performance, natural gas rent, coal rent, and fossil fuel impact CO2 emission positively. Moreover, oil rent, renewable energy, investment in energy, and the interaction between investment in energy and renewable energy also negatively and significantly impact CO2 emission. On the other hand, model II which has economic performance as a dependent variable shows that all the understudy variables have significant positive relations with economic performance. Based on the empirical outcome, policy ramifications are provided.

AbstractThis study examines the linkage between economic risk and political risk in the United Kingdom. This linkage has attracted the attention of policymakers; however, there is no consequence of the linkage in the existing literature. The study aims to close this gap for the UK case by applying wavelet coherence (WTC) and quantile‐on‐quantile regression (QQR) approaches and using quarterly data between 1984/Q1 and 2020/Q4. The results of the WTC reveal that there is time–frequency dependency between economic risk and political risk majorly in the medium and low frequencies. Moreover, the direction of the causality changes over time. Furthermore, the outcomes of the WTC show that economic risk leads political risk between 1995 and 2005, whereas political risk leads economic risk from 2006 to 2019. The outcomes of the QQR approach disclose that in the higher tail (0.7–0.95) of political risk and lower and medium tail (0.05–0.60) of economic risk, the effect of political risk on economic risk is positive and strong. On the flip side, at all quantiles (0.05–0.95) of economic risk and lower quantiles (0.10–0.30) of political risk, the effect of political risk on economic risk is positive and strong. The results are also validated by the outcomes of partial wavelet coherence, multiple wavelet coherence, and quantile regression. Hence, the results highlight the importance of political risk (economic risk) for economic risk (political risk) in the UK case.

The association between carbon emissions and international trade has been examined thoroughly; however, consumption-based carbon emissions, which is adjusted for international trade, have not been studied extensively. Therefore, the present study assesses the asymmetric impact of trade (import and export) and economic growth in consumption-based carbon emissions (CCO2) using the MINT nations (Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey) as a case study. We applied the Nonlinear ARDL to assess this connection using dataset between 1990 and 2018. The outcomes from the BDS test affirmed the use of nonlinear techniques. Furthermore, the NARDL bounds test confirmed long-run association between CCO2 and exports, imports and economic growth. The outcomes from the NARDL long and short-run estimates disclosed that positive (negative) shocks in imports increase (decrease) CCO2 emissions in all the MINT nations. Moreover, positive (negative) shocks in exports decrease (increase) CCO2 emissions in all the MINT nations. As expected, a positive shock in economic growth triggers CCO2 emissions while a negative shift does not have significant impact on CCO2 emissions in the MINT nations. Furthermore, we applied the Gradual shift causality test and the outcomes disclose that imports and economic growth can predict CCO2 emissions in the MINT nations. The study outcomes have significant policy recommendations for policymakers in the MINT nations.

AbstractClean cooking fuels and technologies are crucial for tackling environmental degradation, climate change, deforestation, health issues, air pollution, and poverty. However, many African countries, including Nigeria, continue to face significant challenges in accessing these resources. Existing research provides limited insights into the factors influencing the adoption of clean cooking fuels and technologies, particularly when analyzed through macroeconomic indicators from 2000 to 2022. Due to the nature of the data, nonlinear techniques were employed to uncover these associations. Specifically, the innovative Wavelet Kernel Regularized Least Squares method was applied to examine the impact of financial development, renewable energy consumption, information and communication technology (ICT), and political risk on access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking (ACE). Additionally, wavelet quantile cointegration was introduced to assess the cointegration relationships among the variables. The results reveal that economic growth has a minimal impact on ACE in the short term but becomes more significant over time. ICT positively influences ACE in the medium to long term, while financial development tends to reduce ACE. Renewable energy consumption promotes ACE, whereas political risk impedes it in the short term. However, improvements in political stability significantly enhance ACE in the long run. These findings form the basis for policy recommendations proposed in the study.

AbstractThis paper investigates the role of nuclear energy in promoting ecological sustainability in India, focusing on three ecological indicators: ecological footprint (EF), CO2 emissions (CO2), and load capacity factor (LF). In addition to nuclear energy, the study considers the influence of gas consumption and other drivers of ecological sustainability using data spanning from 1970 to 2018. The analysis also takes into account the impact of the 2008 global financial crisis on the model, employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) and frequency domain causality approaches to assess the relationships. Unlike previous studies, this research evaluates both the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and load capacity curve (LCC) hypotheses. The ARDL results support the validity of both the EKC and LCC hypotheses in the Indian context. Furthermore, the findings reveal that nuclear energy and human capital contribute positively to ecological quality, while gas consumption and economic growth have a negative impact on ecological sustainability. The study also highlights the increasing effect of the 2008 global financial crisis on ecological sustainability. Additionally, the causality analysis demonstrates that nuclear energy, human capital, gas consumption, and economic growth can serve as predictors of long-term ecological sustainability in India. Based on these findings, the research presents policy recommendations that can guide efforts towards achieving SDGs 7 and 13.

Ces dernières années, l'efficacité de l'intensité énergétique s'est améliorée dans les États nordiques et en grande partie parmi les États membres de l'Union européenne, ce qui explique les performances impressionnantes de la région en termes de durabilité environnementale. De toute évidence, il existe peu de littérature sur la criticité de l'efficacité/de l'intensité des énergies renouvelables par rapport à l'efficacité des combustibles fossiles désagrégés. Pour offrir plus de nouveauté, le (dé) mérite de la durabilité environnementale de l'intensité énergétique renouvelable est comparé à l'efficacité énergétique fossile (pétrole, gaz naturel et charbon) dans le panel des États nordiques sur la période 1990–2020 en utilisant des approches économétriques pertinentes telles que le décalage distribué autorégressif transversal (CS-ARDL). Il est important de noter que le résultat montre qu'une augmentation en pourcentage de l'intensité de l'énergie renouvelable atténue les émissions de gaz à effet de serre (GES) d'environ0,45% contre environ0,29% par l'efficacité énergétique du pétrole à long terme, suggérant ainsi que la performance environnementale de l'intensité de l'énergie renouvelable l'emporte sur l'utilisation efficace du mazout. En outre, l'intensité de l'énergie renouvelable surpasse également l'utilisation efficace du gaz naturel et de l'énergie du charbon d'environ0,51 % à0,37 % et d'environ0,43 % à0,17 % respectivement. Cependant, la croissance économique et les innovations liées à l'environnement stimulent les émissions de GES, ce qui implique que les pays nordiques découplent la performance économique des revers environnementaux dans un contexte de changement structurel par le biais d'innovations technologiques. Les résultats sont considérés comme formidables pour la spécificité de la politique du bouquet énergétique, en particulier au Danemark, en Finlande, en Norvège et en Suède. En los últimos años, la eficiencia energética ha mejorado en los estados nórdicos y en gran medida entre los estados miembros de la Unión Europea, lo que explica el impresionante desempeño de la región en términos de sostenibilidad ambiental. Claramente, hay poca literatura sobre la criticidad de la eficiencia/intensidad de la energía renovable en comparación con la eficiencia desagregada de los combustibles fósiles. Para ofrecer más novedad, la sostenibilidad ambiental (de) mérito de la intensidad de la energía renovable se compara con la eficiencia de los combustibles fósiles (petróleo, gas natural y carbón) en el panel de estados nórdicos durante el período 1990–2020 mediante el empleo de enfoques econométricos relevantes, como el retraso distribuido autorregresivo transversal (CS-ARDL). Es importante destacar que el resultado muestra que un aumento porcentual en la intensidad de la energía renovable mitiga las emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero (GEI) en ~0.45% frente a ~0.29% por la eficiencia energética del petróleo a largo plazo, lo que sugiere que el desempeño ambiental de la intensidad de la energía renovable supera el uso eficiente del combustible de petróleo. Además, la intensidad de la energía renovable también supera el uso eficiente de la energía del gas natural y del carbón en ~0.51%–~0.37% y ~0.43%–~0.17%, respectivamente. Sin embargo, el crecimiento económico y las innovaciones relacionadas con el medio ambiente estimulan las emisiones de GEI, lo que implica que los países nórdicos están desacoplando el rendimiento económico de los contratiempos ambientales en medio de un cambio estructural a través de las innovaciones tecnológicas. Los resultados se consideran formidables para la especificidad de la política de combinación energética, especialmente en Dinamarca, Finlandia, Noruega y Suecia. In recent years, energy intensity-efficiency has improved in the Nordic states and largely among the European Union member states, thus accounting for the region's impressive performance in terms of environmental sustainability. Clearly, there is paucity of literature on the criticality of renewable energy efficiency/intensity as compared with disaggregated fossil fuel efficiency. To offer more novelty, environmental sustainability (de) merit of renewable energy intensity is compared with fossil (oil, natural gas, and coal) fuel efficiency in the panel of Nordic states over the period 1990–2020 by employing relevant econometric approaches such as the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL). Importantly, the result shows that a percentage increase in renewable energy intensity mitigates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by ∼0.45% against ∼0.29% by oil energy efficiency in the long run, thus suggesting that environmental performance of renewable energy intensity outweighs the efficient use of oil fuel. Additionally, renewable energy intensity also outperforms efficient use of natural gas and coal energy by ∼0.51%–∼0.37% and ∼0.43%–∼0.17% respectively. However, economic growth and environmental-related innovations spur GHG emissions, implying that the Nordic countries are decoupling economic performance from environmental setbacks amidst structural shift via technological innovations. The results are considered formidable for the specificity of energy mix policy especially in Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden. في السنوات الأخيرة، تحسنت كفاءة استخدام الطاقة في دول الشمال الأوروبي وإلى حد كبير بين الدول الأعضاء في الاتحاد الأوروبي، مما يمثل الأداء المثير للإعجاب في المنطقة من حيث الاستدامة البيئية. من الواضح أن هناك ندرة في الأدبيات حول أهمية كفاءة/كثافة الطاقة المتجددة مقارنة بكفاءة الوقود الأحفوري المصنفة. لتقديم المزيد من الحداثة، تتم مقارنة ميزة الاستدامة البيئية لكثافة الطاقة المتجددة بكفاءة الوقود الأحفوري (النفط والغاز الطبيعي والفحم) في لجنة دول الشمال الأوروبي خلال الفترة 1990–2020 من خلال استخدام مناهج الاقتصاد القياسي ذات الصلة مثل التأخر الموزع الانحداري المستعرض (CS - ARDL). الأهم من ذلك، تظهر النتيجة أن الزيادة المئوية في كثافة الطاقة المتجددة تخفف من انبعاثات غازات الدفيئة بنسبة 0.45 ٪ مقابل 0.29 ٪ من كفاءة الطاقة النفطية على المدى الطويل، مما يشير إلى أن الأداء البيئي لكثافة الطاقة المتجددة يفوق الاستخدام الفعال لوقود النفط. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، تتفوق كثافة الطاقة المتجددة أيضًا على الاستخدام الفعال للغاز الطبيعي وطاقة الفحم بنسبة 0.51 ٪– 0.37 ٪ و 0.43 ٪– 0.17 ٪ على التوالي. ومع ذلك، فإن النمو الاقتصادي والابتكارات المتعلقة بالبيئة تحفز انبعاثات غازات الدفيئة، مما يعني أن بلدان الشمال الأوروبي تفصل الأداء الاقتصادي عن النكسات البيئية وسط التحول الهيكلي عبر الابتكارات التكنولوجية. تعتبر النتائج هائلة لخصوصية سياسة مزيج الطاقة خاصة في الدنمارك وفنلندا والنرويج والسويد.