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Many researches have been conducted to provide theoretical explanations and/or empirical evidence of how globalization affects environmental quality. However, theoretical explanations have not reached consensus, empirical research has not yet clarified the possible effects in developing countries particularly. For Saudi Arabia from 1981 to 2018, we tested the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis (EKC). We studied the impact of globalization on the ecological footprint (ECP) relying on the QARDL approach. Four globalization indicators are used namely: social (GLOBS), economic (GLOBE), political (GLOBP), and total globalization (GLOBG). Based on QARDL results, it appears that all quantiles show a statistically significant and negative sign for error correction parameter. These results affirm that the related variables and ecological footprint in Saudi Arabia are reverting to a long-term equilibrium. In the long-run, the results of the study suggest that GLOBG, as well as GLOBE, will lead to increased ECP across all the quantiles. However, the fluctuations in GLOBP and GLOBS negatively affect ecological footprint in higher quantiles. Additionally, the QARDL results confirmed that the Saudi economy has an inverted U-Shaped curve. In the short-run, ECP is negatively affected by four globalization indicators in middle and upper quantiles. Sustainable development and environmental policy can be advanced using the guidelines found in this research. Based on the findings, the government and political system in Saudi Arabia should pay more attention to global and economic globalization to achieve sustainable environmental goals in the long run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigate the relationship between China's high growth and environmental pollution from the agricultural and industrial sectors by estimating the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). We used panel data of Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above for the period between 2011 and 2015 and estimated the EKC models using the system generalized method of moments (GMM). We found that agricultural chemical oxygen demand (COD) and industrial wastewater depict N-shaped and reverse N-shaped curves. Further, an EKC for agricultural nitrogen balance has been established. We find that industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions and their emission intensity support the EKC hypothesis. Our research is then used to provide policymakers with guidance on mitigating environmental pollution by comparing and scrutinizing the characteristics of agricultural and industrial pollution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of our study is to examine the Fishery-based Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for a sample of 48 African countries between 1970–2019. We estimate cubic EKC-type models using quantile regression to account for distributional asymmetries existing in the time series data, and our empirical analysis is conducted at continental, regional and country-specific levels. Methodologically, our findings indicate that most EKC relationships are found at the tail-end of the quantile regressions, hence demonstrating their usefulness in capturing "hidden relationships" amongst the variables. Empirically, our findings reveal that Southern African countries along the Atlantic Ocean, as well as West African countries which lie along the Gulf of Guinea, tend to have exploitable Fishery-EKC. Conversely, conflict-prone countries found along the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean and landlocked nations either have inverse or non-existent Fisheries EKC. We provide a novel theoretical explanation for our findings and offer policy recommendations for different stakeholders in African Fisheries markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of climate finance on pollutant emissions (CO2, CH4 and N2O) for a sample of 19 Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries over the period 2006 to 2017. Our study augments the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) with climate finance and our findings affirm the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income and emissions (i.e. traditional EKC) as well as between climate finance and emissions (Climate finance-induced EKC). We particularly compute turning points of $3,690 (CO2); $5,710 (CH4) and $6,420 (N2O) for per capita GDP levels and $910 million (CO2), $1.2 billion (CH4) and $1. 6 billion (N2O) for climate finance funds. These turning points are above the current averages observed for the SSA countries hence implying that these African countries are not developed enough and neither receive sufficient climate funding to address the challenges arising from climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions dependent on the quality of institutions, for a sample of 93 emerging and developing countries over the period 1995–2014. We measured institutional quality using government effectiveness and control of corruption indicators. The GMM estimation results indicate that government effectiveness modifies the economic growth-emissions relationship. For low values of this institutional indicator, we found diminishing increments of CO2 emissions as GDP grows. In the case of countries with high government effectiveness, we observed a statistically significant reduction in CO2 emissions only in some specifications. We did not confirm the moderating role of the control of corruption in shaping the economic growth-carbon dioxide emissions nexus. These findings have important policy implications, suggesting that countries should direct efforts to improve the institutional background. Additionally, we provide empirical support for the presence of the inverted U-shaped relationship between economic growth and carbon dioxide emissions postulated by the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A substantial area of permanently habitable land in Austria is already sealed to be used for residential, commercial, and infrastructural purposes. Although the annual land consumption used for these purposes has slightly decreased over the last 20 years, it is still at an alarmingly high rate. In 1996, the daily land consumption corresponded to over 30 hectares, while it dropped to about 10 hectares in 2016. In this paper the determinants of land consumption were confirmed within the econometric framework of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). In the EKC it is assumed that there is an inverted-U shaped connection between the GDP and land consumption. In this conceptual framework, the effectiveness of spatial planning frameworks, such as the Austrian Spatial Development Concept (ÖREK), was tested. The results show that, in Austria, there is a general trend towards a decrease in land consumption. The effectiveness of spatial planning frameworks is, however, not discernible from the general influence of an increase in the GDP. Both the increasing scarcity of land (reflected in the increasing land prices) and the increased efficiency of the use of land (as a result of population density and urbanization), contribute to the reduction of land consumption. This indicates that additional and more effective policy instruments, such as brownfield and inward development, land mobilization strategies, higher land taxes and urban contractual agreements are all urgently needed to reduce land consumption to much lower sustainable levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding changes in livestock production and their relationship with socio-economic and environmental impacts is important for exploring the pathways towards sustainable development goals (SDGs) of food systems. We used pig production in China as a case study to evaluate how socio-economic indicators influence pig production and nutrient losses using the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and Gini index. The recent acceleration in pig production is driven by an increase in average consumption of pig products per capita and government policies that support new pig production systems. The relationship between the rapid growth of worldwide pig production and its environmental impacts can be described using the EKC. The turning point in the EKC, i.e. the average income at which environmental degradation starts to decrease, is estimated to be USD 15–35 000 per capita when the pig production density is greater than 5.0 head per hectare of arable land. China's pig production has not yet reached the EKC turning point; however, given the uneven distribution of pig production systems and supply chains (feed and water) and the limited land availability for utilizing manure nutrients, the continued increasing demand for pork in China will inevitably result in continued environmental degradation. The EKC turning point should be reached earlier than the global average level, especially as environmental regulation has been reinforced since 2014. Future government policies and regulations that optimize geographical locations for sustainable pig production (i.e. better spatial planning) and support improved manure nutrient management at both regional and farm levels are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon dioxide (CO2) formed during coal combustion is responsible for over half of the increase in the greenhouse effect, globally. It is crucial to conduct a comprehensive analysis and accurate prediction for coal production and consumption to optimize coal utilization and control emissions. However, several unstable factors inhibit the accurate forecasting of coal. Therefore, taking into account both effect and efficiency of prediction, the Hubbert model is applied in this study to forecast China's peak coal production, peak year, and future production. Additionally, a combined model, with weights determined by a flower pollination algorithm and no-negative-constraint theory, is proposed to forecast coal consumption, which is superior to that of all individual models. Subsequently, accounting for the vital effect of CO2 from coal combustion on economic issues, correlation analysis and an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) are applied to quantitatively examine the relationship among coal consumption, economic development, and carbon emissions. The results of this estimation suggest that, compared to the US, China's economic development relies more on coal consumption; however, the EKC indicates that China has still not reached the 'inflection point'. Accordingly, it is essential for policymakers to balance the relationship among coal utilization, economic development, and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical work on the relation between health expenditure and environmental degradation is based predominantly on the ARDL approach to co-integration and to a lesser extent on panel co-integration as applied to a log-log specification. The results invariably show that environmental degradation has a positive effect on health expenditure. In this article, we examine the bivariate relation between environmental degradation and health expenditure, since this relation seems to hold strongly, which can be explained in terms of the environmental Kuznets curve. We cast a shadow of doubt on the practice of using the log-log specification without any theoretical or empirical justification. Our results show that the relation between health expenditure and environmental degradation can be either positive or negative, depending on the level of per capita income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper, which is conceptually located at the intersection of trade–economics, resource politics, and environmental assessment, is a narrative-analytic review of Chinese economic expansionism in Africa especially its quest for the continent’s natural resources in the past 10 years. We seek to examine the environmental, ecological, and sociopolitical impacts of the current China–Africa engagement within the context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. The EKC hypothesis posits that an inverted U-shape relationship exists between economic growth and environmental quality. This implies that the quality of a country’s environment will initially decrease due to its economic growth, but will soon start to improve when the country attains a certain threshold level of economic development/income per capita. We argue that by virtue of its ‘omission’ and/or ‘commission’ factors, the EKC hypothesis can be misleading if not dangerous. Using the case study of China’s engagement with Cameroon in the forest sector, the paper illustrates the high threshold level of economic development/income per capita that is required before the quality of the country’s environment can begin to improve. The paper ends with the environmental, ecological, and sociopolitical impacts of Chinese involvement in the Cameroonian forest sector and concludes that this engagement and the larger Chinese economic expansionism in Africa under current trading conditions is fairly detrimental to the welfare of African peoples and their environment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In contrast to the common dismal view of China's environment, this article highlights local and national sustainability efforts in China and examines the location characteristics of China's Eco-Communities (Shengtai Qu), communities that achieved significant sustainability per the evaluation of the Chinese government. It explores what the Chinese experience implies to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) concept in the context of nature-society relations and sustainability studies. The research was based on field research in eight Chinese provinces in 2001, 2004, and 2006, in addition to Chinese governmental and academic sources. At the national level, there appeared to be a positive environment-development relationship: The Eco-Communities tended to concentrate in more developed eastern China. The Eco-Communities displayed unique spatial patterns that are strikingly at odds with conventional wisdom, however. They were often found in the periphery of their provinces away from the wealthiest areas, poorer and smaller in economy and population compared to other communities in the provinces. Contrary to the EKC, the findings illustrate that communities can achieve environmental improvement along with economic growth, thus a win-win, nature-society relationship, at early stages of development. Natural resource endowments and environmental governance appear to be more important than development level in determining an area's sustainability. Environment-development research should move beyond the traditional EKC debate to better understand nature-society relations and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine the historical developments of the environmental adaptation process at one Swedish metal smelting firm, contrasting the result with cases in Canada. The findings suggest that the Swedish system in excluding stakeholders, focusing on plant emissions and stipulating pollution reduction at economically feasible costs mitigated risk which resulted in long-term contracts in a cooperative framework in which engineers were given a high degree of discretion. This enabled an 'expansion-for-emission-reduction' strategy which is consistent with the so-called Porter and van der Linde hypothesis. Moreover, the findings suggest that environmental management systems should be considered in the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]