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Today's global economy faces the most devastating challenges of global warming occasioned by overdependence on natural resources. Besides, the dilemma of choosing between economic benefits and environmental costs emanating from natural resources heightens the empirical relevance of green energy in recent times. To solve this developmental puzzle, the current study presents extends the knowledge frontier by evaluating the impacts of natural resource dependence, green energy (captured by biofuels and renewable energy), carbon tax, and technological innovation on environmental sustainability in G7 economies. The empirical model endogenizes environmental policy stringency and financial development from 1996 to 2019. The empirical verification anchors on second‐generation estimators entailing Cross‐Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS‐ARDL), Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCEMG), augmented mean group (AMG), and novel Method of Moment Quantile Regression (MMQR). The fallouts from the analyses uncover that natural resource dependence militates against the attainment of the sustainability blueprint by escalating the surge in CO2 emissions in G7 countries. Similarly, the feedbacks from financial development support the surge in emissions. On the flip side, green energy, technological innovation, carbon tax, and environmental policy appear as effective tools for mitigating the surge. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) estimator for the country‐specific analysis corroborates the panel findings. Additionally, two channels of causalities, including unidirectional and bidirectional nexuses, are apparent from the estimated model. Policy measures are suggested based on empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the influence of industrial lobbying on national climate policies and the formation of an international environmental agreement if the coalition countries use border carbon adjustments to protect domestic producers. We find that the effects of this political influence crucially depend on the distribution of carbon tax revenues. If these are transferred to the households, lobbying distorts carbon taxes downwards to reduce the tax burden and does not affect coalition sizes. This leads to higher emissions and lower welfare. By contrast, if tax revenues are given back to the firms, lobbies in the outsider countries favor carbon taxes, whereas lobbies in the coalition countries favor carbon subsidies to raise the international commodity price. This reduces the tax difference and the welfare difference between the countries, which reduces the free-rider incentives. Then, lobbying stabilizes the grand coalition and reduces global emissions compared to a "perfect" world without lobbying if the political influence is sufficiently strong. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Canada, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions continue to remain high despite the federal government's commitment to reduce GHG emissions. Environmental policy across Canadian provinces has largely lacked consistency with some provinces implementing targeted policy such as carbon taxes while others have strongly resisted the federal government's attempts to encourage such policy. This study examines the impact of environmental policy on GHG gas emissions across Canadian provinces with policy uniquely measured by public and business sector spending on environmental protection as well as notable province-specific policies. An extended STIRPAT model is specified with the inclusion of proxies for environmental policy using panel data from Canada's ten provinces from 1995 to 2019. The cointegration and the error correction modelling approaches are employed to estimate the non-stationary panel data. A pooled mean group estimation is applied to provide short run and long run coefficients. The findings indicate that although per capita GDP is the main driver of GHG emissions in Canada, environmental policy has a significant mitigating effect, as shown by the negative association between emissions and private and public sector spending on environmental protection in the long run. Furthermore, provinces with targeted policies, such as Ontario's coal phase-out and British Columbia's carbon tax, experienced significant emissions reductions. The theoretical implication is the successful addition of policy variables to the STIRPAT model, providing the model a new application for future research. [Display omitted] • Assess the impact of environmental protection policies on per capita greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. • Utilize public and private expenditures on environmental protection, along with provincial policies. • Extend the STIRPAT model to incorporate environmental protection policies in an empirical model. • Demonstrate a significant negative relationship between environmental protection policies and GHG emissions. • Offer insights with implications for global environmental sustainability efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate policies such as carbon tax and green finance policy are critical measures to promote low-carbon transition worldwide. These policies are, however, likely to interact with each other and create unintentional consequences. This paper adopts a stock-flow consistent model to theoretically explore the effects of policy interactions. Specifically, commercial banks, as the key credit creators and critical players in providing source of finance, are included. Based on the numerical simulations of the dynamic model, we find that both carbon tax and green finance policies render positive impacts on low-carbon transition. In addition, green credit incentives, if imposed simultaneously with carbon tax, can enhance the positive effects. Although low-carbon transition could generate higher net government revenues, our results show that banking sector tends to expose to higher financial risks when firms' debt-equity ratio rises. Further analysis shows that subsidies on green loans can support green transition and bring positive consequences to debt rollover and social welfare, indicating the needs for active government intervention to improve policy effectiveness. The framework proposed in this paper provides a useful way to understand policy dilemmas in pursuing low-carbon transition and give important implications to form optimal policy mix. • A stock-flow consistent model is developed to examine climate policy interactions. • We show that climate policy-mix can generate both positive and negative effects. • Green finance policies can enhance green investment and induce higher financial risks. • Active government intervention such as green subsidies can ease financial distress and improve policy effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the current carbon intensity assessment and foresight of the prospects for the decarbonization of the Ukrainian industry, the most carbon-intensive (initially creating a significant carbon footprint) and carbon-vulnerable (showing the highest growth rates of carbon intensity over time) industrial sectors were identified. It is substantiated that the processing industry, agriculture, transport and energy, which have both of the above negative characteristics, are of the greatest competitive importance for Ukrainian GDP and are the most promising sectors for priority development. It is defined that for the period 1990-2020 the carbon intensity of Ukrainian GDP exceeds the global and European average levels, despite certain favorable trends in reducing the greenhouse gas emissions in recent years. As of 2022 the carbon footprint of the Ukrainian industry does not exceed the established quota. However, if current trends continue, it may be exhausted by 2040. At the same time, slow progress in the decarbonization of the Ukrainian energy sector, downward dynamics of the value added in industry, a weak motivating role of environmental taxes and low investment activity of industry do not provide favorable prerequisites for effective decarbonization and digitalization of the industrial complex. The established positive trends in the reduction of carbon intensity are due to destructive phenomena in the long term (deindustrialization of the economy and economic stagnation due to the pandemic) and are temporary in nature, while maintaining the risks of increasing greenhouse gas emissions to pre-crisis levels in case of maintaining the current technological order. According to the basic scenario of the decarbonization of the Ukrainian industry (preservation of current trends and phenomena), an exhaustion of the national quota for greenhouse gas emissions by 2040, further deindustrialization of the economy, an increase in technological gaps with the developed countries of the world and an aggravate in the competitive vulnerability of national exporters are expected. The optimistic scenario assumes successful decarbonization and digitalization of the technological structure of the industrial complex. Its implementation ensures the achievement of "carbon neutrality" of the economy in 2060 and the achievement of other target indicators and qualitative changes planned in the official state strategies for environmental policy and economic development for 2030. However, it requires a significant increase in innovative activity - at the level of results of low-carbon EU-27 leaders, which has taken on heightened commitments to achieve "carbon neutrality". The key condition for the implementation of the optimistic scenario is the participation of Ukraine in international projects to prevent climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given their distinct service and demand characteristics, flight operations at different airports and the resulting emissions are not expected to be uniformly impacted by price-based environmental policies such as carbon offset charges, carbon taxes and carbon credits. In order to understand the variabilities, we explore the relationship among airfare (a proxy for price-based policies), passenger demand, airline capacity decisions, and resulting aviation emissions on several air routes originating from a small and a large airport in the US Midwest. Using a supply-and-demand model, emissions are found to be inelastic to airfare overall, although they appear to respond to airfare tenfold more at the small airport compared to the large one. This inelasticity suggests that price-based measures will have low efficacy towards directly reducing aviation emissions, despite their role in generating financial resources for supporting various carbon removal and reduction technologies and processes. Given that the studied airports are only about a 2-h drive apart, the aforementioned emissions' response variability show that studying and designing price-based policy instruments at national, continental and global scales, as done extensively thus far, may mask significant regional variations. Replicating this more localized approach on airports in different regions of the US as well as other countries may yield a range of insights about where price-based environmental policies could have efficacy and to what extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic global warming strategies on carbon mitigation are driven by encouraging green innovation and using carbon taxes, yet an empirical model to validate this is non-existing. Moreover, the existing stochastic effects by regression on population, wealth, and technology (STIRPAT) model has been found to lack policy tools on taxes and institutions that cut carbon emissions. This study amends the STIRPAT model with environmental technology, environmental taxes, and strong institutional frameworks to create a new model STIRPART(stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, regulation, and technology) to understand the factors impacting carbon pollution using the emerging 7 economies. Using data from 2000 to 2020, the Driscoll-Kraay fixed effects are employed in this analysis to conduct evidential tests of the impacts of environmental policies, eco-friendly innovations, and strong institutions. The outcomes indicate that environmental technology, environmental taxation, and institution quality decrease E7's carbon emissions by 0.170%, 0.080%, and 0.016%, respectively. It is recommended that E7 policymakers should adopt the STIRPART postulate as the theoretical basis for policies favoring environmental sustainability. The key contribution is the amendment of the STIRPAT model and the enhancement of the market-based mechanisms, such as patents, strong institutions, and carbon taxes, to enable environmental policy to be carried out sustainably and cost-effectively. • The research analyzed how E7 economies reduced carbon emissions from 2000 to 2020 using environmental technology, environmental taxes, and robust institutional frameworks. • An expanded STIRPART model was conceptualized to assess factors impacting carbon pollution in E7 economies. • STIRPART model represents a pivotal contribution to carbon mitigation strategies in emerging economies. • Driscoll-Kraay fixed effects and method of moment quantile used to conduct evidential tests on impacts of environmental policies, eco-friendly innovations, and strong institutions. • Improvement of market-based mechanisms, such as patents, strong institutions, and carbon taxes, is necessary for sustainable and cost-effective environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population growth has two potentially counteracting effects on pollution emissions: (i) more people imply more production and thereby more emissions, and (ii) more people imply a larger research capacity which might reduce the emission intensity of production, depending on the direction of research. This study investigates how to achieve a given climate goal in the presence of these two effects. A growth model featuring both directed technical change and population growth is developed. The model allows for simultaneous research in polluting and non-polluting technologies. Both analytical and numerical results indicate that population growth is a burden on the environment, even when all research efforts are directed toward non-polluting technologies. Thus, research subsidies alone cannot ensure environmental sustainability. Instead, the analysis highlights the importance of carbon taxes for climate change mitigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We consider the effects of a maritime bunker levy on ship-owner profits, trade, and emissions. Standard and augmented gravity models are employed using data from 2016 to estimate the impact of a change in transit time and transit cost on grain and soybean trade flows and on vessel speed. Results for a bunker levy of 50 USD per tonne of fuel, or less, stress that it will not trigger a change in the optimal speed of the vessel which is contrary to most theoretical models that predict an increase in fuel costs will always lead to a reduction in speed and carbon emissions. Bunker levies exceeding 100 USD per tonne may be needed to reduce carbon emissions when trade flows are sensitive to trade costs and transport time, as may be the case for many agricultural commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study employs the dynamic recursive Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) approach to model Australia's economy. This carbon tax policy is designed based on Australia's economy, starting at A$23/tCO2, increasing over time and imposing uniformly on all industries. This study proposes two carbon tax policies and three revenue recycling approaches, and the prices and GDP variations are estimated during 2020 and 2035. This study confirms introducing a carbon tax policy decreases Australia's carbon emissions and reduces real consumption and GDP if it is not accompanied by a revenue recycling policy. But following a revenue-neutral policy and redirecting the carbon tax revenue into the economy through reducing income taxes and investing in research and development (R&D) projects leads to economic growth. This study confirms the implementation of a carbon tax associated with a suitable revenue recycling approach benefits Australia both economically and environmentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental policy research has increased due to stricter policies aligned with climate goals. However, to achieve the goal of net-zero emissions, the adoption of even stronger policies and increased carbon taxes is necessary, with transition risk becoming a major concern for companies. Even though governments worldwide have been employing a range of methods such as carbon tax, cap-and-trade, and intensity targets to mitigate the impact of climate change, a pivotal debate around determining the optimal policy that reduces emissions without harming the economy continues. Our paper delves into the environmental policy assessment emphasizing the role of endogenous capital utilization rates, which have hitherto been largely disregarded in literature. We study how endogenous capital utilization rate affects the transmission mechanism of economic shocks and the optimal environmental policy choice. To evaluate the quantitative impact of the transmission mechanism, we introduce distinct features to the environmental-dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (E-DSGE) model, including endogenous capital utilization, time-varying depreciation of capital, and environment quality shocks. We find that the complementarity between energy and capital leads to an amplification effect of the conventional transmission mechanism. Our model with these ingredients ranks any carbon tax below 25% as the best policy in terms of welfare improvement. • Role of variable capital utilization in the presence of environmental regulations. • Tightening environmental policies contribute to fluctuations of energy prices. • Complementarity between energy and capital leads to an amplification effect. • Any carbon tax below 25% improves welfare. • Numerical methods calculate an approximation solution of compensating variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although market-based CO 2 emission control measures (e.g., carbon tax and carbon trading market) have been deeply discussed, government-based measures have received limited attention. This has led to increased uncertainty regarding the formulation of targeted emission reduction policies. Using a unique dataset, the non-radial directional distance function, a proposed spatial meta-frontier analysis method, and the log t convergence model, this study comprehensively investigates the spatio-temporal trends in fiscal environmental expenditure efficiency (FE) and corresponding causes for in a case study for 106 Chinese cities over 2007–2019. The results show that city-level FE presented a slow upward trend at a relatively low level, with a clearly skewed distribution. The technology gap effect between city groups and the overall best production technology, and the efficiency gap effect within city groups were the main drivers widening the overall FE gap. Convergence analysis indicated that three convergence clubs of FE were found, which were distributed across the country. This study highlights that, when constructing fiscal environmental expenditure policies, the government should focus on balancing the regional gap of FE while comprehensively improving FE. • Fiscal environment expenditure efficiency has effects on reducing emissions. • Spatial meta-frontier analysis method for decomposing changes in FE was proposed. • City-level energy consumption data for China were estimated. • FE had a slow upward trend with a skewed distribution from 2007 to 2019. • Three convergence clubs of FE were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After its establishment in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has rapidly developed, and it has brought together countries from all over the world. The BRI countries of Eurasia cover nearly 40% of the land surface and, in particular, the energy dimension of BRI is a dynamic and impacting reality: countries connected by the BRI account for 54% of world primary energy supply. In this global framework, it is of uttermost importance to evaluate the behaviour of BRI countries towards energy sustainability issues, by providing an overview of the current situation and assessing its evolution over time. In our analysis, we develop a quantitative framework for sustainability analysis, based on four dimensions: society, economy, energy and environment. The different dimensions are integrated in an overall sustainability index, evaluated through Multi Criteria Decision Analysis and in particular PROMETHEE II. We consider the most impacting (in terms of energy) BRI countries and we implement a comparative analysis of their sustainability providing a ranking and tracking their time evolution. Furthermore, we analyse the current practises of carbon pricing (carbon tax or Emission Trading System) along BRI, when implemented, as these mechanisms can contribute in reducing emissions and improving sustainability, also resulting in a benefit for the economy and society. For this aim, we use the proposed quantitative framework for assessing their effects on BRI sustainability. • BRI countries cover more than 50% of World GDP, energy consumption and CO 2 emissions. • The sustainability of countries is assessed with a multi-dimensional approach (MCDA). • Carbon pricing can enhance economic, social, energy and environmental sustainability. • Europe has the highest sustainability level for its environmental and social policies. • Kazakhstan, China and Europe improve in sustainability also thanks to carbon pricing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]