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Achieving environmental sustainability has become a global concern amidst increasing climate change threat. Using quarterly frequency data for the case of Russia from 1992 to 2018, the present study explores the interaction between disaggregated energy consumption (renewable energy and non-renewable energy), trade flow and economic growth on a broader measure for environmental degradation (ecological footprint). The choice of the variables draws strength from initiative of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG, 7, 8 11 and 13) for responsible energy consumption and clean energy consumption while mitigating climate change issues. The study applied the quantile-on-quantile regression (QQR) and nonparametric causality-in-quantiles to capture these associations. The outcomes from the QQR disclosed that in the majority of the quantiles, trade openness and renewable energy use contribute to environmental sustainability, while nonrenewable energy amplifies ecological footprint. Furthermore, growth in Russia escalates its ecological footprint. Moreover, in the majority of the quantiles, all the exogenous variables can predict ecological footprint. Given the outcomes of this study, it outlines the need for a paradigm shift for alternative and clean energy consumption in Russian energy mix amidst its economic growth trajectory while accounting for green-development approaches. Pathways to fully achieve the sustainability targets are carefully outlined in the concluding section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Along with the increasing aging population (AP) and global interconnectedness in the Mediterranean bloc comes climate change issues faced by the Mediterranean region in its trajectory to energy security and sustainable development. To meet the continuous energy consumption demand while cutting down natural resources extraction and exploitation with a view to minimizing environmental impacts, the policy structure in these countries may require readjustment, which is the motivation for the present study. This study advances a strategic framework for investigating the impact of natural resources rent as well as aging reliance on carbon emissions in the Mediterranean region for the annual frequency data from 1990–2016. Using quantile regression to analyze the highlighted variables, empirical results shows that both income and natural resources rent have an inverted U-Shaped connection with CO2 emission, which affirms the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Subsequently, globalization and energy use show a positive relationship with emissions while AP is negatively correlated with emissions. Depending on the outcomes of this analysis, a multi-stage Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) framework has been developed and SDG- 7, SDG -13 as well as SDG-8 were examined in this context. While these three SDGs are the main targets of the study, the SDG System has also provided a way to test other SDGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Kyoto protocol and the United Nations Sustainable development goals (UNSDGs) on climate action (SDG-13), there has been a need across economies for transition from fossil-fuel-based energy sources such as coal energy consumption to cleaner energy options i.e., a transition to a low-carbon economy. To this end, the present study explores the asymmetric relationship between coal energy consumption, economic growth, rising urban population and emission level in South Africa. The present study span is conducted on an annual frequency basis from 1965-2018. This study applies the novel Non-linear Autoregressive distributed lag methodology (NARDL) for the highlighted variables. Empirical results validate the asymmetric relationship between the variables under review over the study period. The NARDL regression further shows positive shock by GDP increases CO2 emission level while negative impact affects otherwise in the long run. On the other hand, coal consumption positive shock exhibits a detrimental impact on environmental quality in South Africa. This is insightful for policymakers. The urban population shows non-significant effect on emission levels over the sampled period. The knowledge of both positive and negative shock effects of GDP, coal energy consumption and urban growth is vital for policy construction in terms of both economic and environmental sustainability. Thus, policy prescription ranges from energy transition to alternative and cleaner energy sources like renewables and responsible energy consumption (SDG-12) should be pursued in South Africa. More far-reaching environmental policies are highlighted in the concluding section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) is one of the strongest, but most complex unions in the world with a competitive tourism industry. The aim of this study, therefore, is to account for economic complexity index (ECI), Brexit and other crisis episodes in the growth-energy-emissions nexus. Theoretically, the traditional Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model is assessed by adopting a One-step System Generalized Method of Moment (Sys GMM) on data for 26 EU member states over the period from 1995 to 2018. For the first time, an EU-macro regional analysis is conducted with and without the UK. Empirical results reveal that an increase in tourism, real GDP per capita, and energy use across the four EU macro regions leads to increase in carbon emission. In some regions, it was observed that tourism, ECI, Brexit, and the Greece bailout have no significant impact on carbon emission. This suggests that the increase in international travel, complexity of the economy, and financial crisis do not accelerate environmental crisis in such regions. However, where such factors are statistically significant, Brexit and the Greece bailout crisis both heighten emissions. Particularly, when the UK is excluded, Brexit and the Greece bailout crisis increase and reduce emissions, respectively. The EKC hypothesis, however, holds in either scenario. Based on these empirical findings, vital policy directions are suggested for a post-Brexit EU-UK energy and environmental relations. • We examined ECI, Brexit and other crisis episodes in the growth-energy-emissions nexus. • An increase in tourism, real GDP per capita, and energy use lead to increase in carbon emission. • In some regions, tourism, ECI, Brexit, and the Greece bailout have no significant impact on carbon emission. • When the UK is excluded, Brexit and the Greece bailout crisis increase and reduce emissions, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]