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Purpose: This paper aims to review the relationship between per capita income and aggregate emission in an economy populated by rational agents. According to the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis, pollution–income relationship is an inverted U-shaped curve. This paper aims to derive that relationship in an endogenous way and extends the relevant literature in an important way. Design/methodology/approach: This paper formulated a general equilibrium model of homogenous population with identical tastes and preferences. Production side is modelled with firms operating in a monopolistically competitive environment. The approach is modelling the economy in an analytical way so that closed form solutions can be achieved. Model simulations have also been performed to get a clear view of results. Findings: This study shows that increasing returns to scale in abatement technology ceases to be a sufficient condition for the generation of the EKC hypothesis. The general equilibrium structure of the model allows studying the endogenous evolution of income, emissions and prices of the abatement goods in a unified setting. Originality/value: The paper is novel and original in nature. The results are new in the literature. These results extend and generalise the previous research work in this area in an important way. The sufficient condition that is obtained in this study limits the applicability of EKC in an otherwise identical economy as used in previous literature. Therefore, this paper adds value to the ongoing research related to EKC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment has become a growing concern for many countries, as pollution and other environmental degradation can harm human health, economic growth, and overall well-being. This paper probes into the asymmetrical implications of economic complexity and freedom on ecological quality in four South Asian countries from 1995 to 2019. Using Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag methodology approach, our findings indicate that carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are intensified by economic freedom both in the long and short term, while negative and positive shocks to economic complexity increase CO2 emissions in the long term. However, a negative economic complexity shock increases CO2 emissions, whereas a positive shock has the opposite effect in the short run. Moreover, our results confirm the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the long run. Furthermore, we find that renewable energy usage and the interaction of FDI and renewable energy usage can help reduce environmental damage in both the short and long run. The findings suggest that countries should focus on attracting foreign direct investment that promotes the use of renewable energy. Additionally, policies aimed at encouraging renewable energy use should be implemented. It is important to note that as economic freedom and complexity increase, there is a corresponding increase in CO2 emissions. Therefore, South Asian policy makers are advised to prioritize the reduction in fossil fuels, the promotion of energy-saving technologies and efficient production, and trade that encourages the transition of renewable energy sources to reduce CO2 emissions. [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]

In the context of recent environmental debates related to the impact of economic development on environment quality, this paper's aim is to explain the GHG emissions in few EU New Member States (Bulgaria, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Poland) in the period 1990–2019 using a panel data approach (panel threshold and dynamic panel models) and a time series approach (vector error correction models). The importance of this study is related to the identification of paths to reduce pollution in order to manage climate challenges. The results indicate similarities and differences in terms of the impact of various indicators on the total GHG emissions and in the agricultural sector. There is a negative correlation between human development index/GDP and total GHG emissions when GDP growth is below and above 0.83%. Above this threshold estimate, there is a more strong and negative correlation between human development index and GHG emissions than below the threshold value. Below 1.41%, human development index and growth of value-added in agriculture do not influence pollution in agriculture. Above 1.41%, economic growth and change in value-added in agriculture positively influence the pollution in this sector. The relationship between GDP and GHG is inverted N-shaped for Bulgaria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia and Romania (sample countries), while the relationship between value-added in agriculture and GHG is N-shaped. This research confirms the U-shaped RKC at the national level and for agriculture in the sample countries, while an inversely U pattern was observed for Poland. Renewable energy consumption reduces total GHG emissions in the sample countries. Some policy proposals are indicated to promote a sustainable development in these countries with less pollution. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental degradation has put significant consequences at both the national and global levels. Economic development and ecological sustainability can be achieved by an increase in economic growth but on the cost of environmental quality. The basic aim of this analysis is to find the existence of the aviation Kuznets curve (AKC) and the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for the selected 21 OECD nations from 1980 to 2018. The aviation cargo and aviation passengers' patterns are separately analyzed in relation to CO2 emissions to quantify whether Kuznets phenomenon exists in the aviation industry of OECD nations? The econometric results of panel GMM confirm the validation of the aviation Kuznets curve in case of aviation passengers such that the "inverted U shaped" pattern. While the environmental Kuznets curve and aviation cargo Kuznets curve do not exist in the OECD nation. It means that an increase in aviation cargo and economic growth increases the CO2 emissions showing the "U shaped" association. Moreover, the Pairwise Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality test exhibits uni–directional association moving from economic growth to carbon emissions, while there is bidirectional granger causality among trade openness, aviation sector, and energy consumption to carbon emissions. The overall results suggest that OECD nations must consider the pollution reduction techniques, investment in renewable sources, continuous research, implementation of efficient energy sources, and the imposition of aviation emissions taxes to limit the pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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With sustained economic growth, environmental pollution in China has become increasingly serious and displays certain regional differences. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of economic growth, energy consumption, and environmental pollution in China and understand the dynamic pollution mechanisms for the implementation of regional collaborative governance. Based on the theory of the environmental Kuznets curve, this paper uses panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2008 to 2018 and applies a spatial analysis model to study the correlation among economic growth, energy consumption, and the spatial distribution of environmental pollution. A spatial measurement method is adopted to study the spatial effects of economic growth and energy consumption on environmental pollution. The results show that economic growth, the energy structure, and industrial pollution in China are spatially correlated and that there are different agglomeration areas in the spatial distribution. In terms of the temporal dimension, the energy consumption effect and technological pollution effect in China led to increased environmental pollution, and changes in the structure effect indirectly improved the environmental situation. In the spatial dimension, the high‐value clusters of the structural, energy consumption, and technological pollution effects are mainly in the central and western regions of China, and the low‐value clusters are mostly in the eastern and northeastern regions of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) proposes uncontrolled pollution during initial development stage of a nation and then a gradual shift to environmental protection and remediation as income (GDP) improves, a developmental route that was used by a few countries. This theory, however, is marred with a lot of conceptual and ecological errors. Importantly, there is little evidence of an EKC pathway, mainly because the "statistical analysis on which the EKC is based is not robust" (Stern in International society for ecological economics internet encyclopaedia of ecological economics the Environmental Kuznets Curve, 2003). This study investigates through questionnaire survey, the opinions of young African students studying in China, on the issue of development with environmental pollution and degradation. Results show that 72% of respondents agreed to development with pollution citing EKC, an outcome that indicates the possible developmental route likely to be followed by majority of Africa. The study concluded that environmental protection discussions should not be done at economic level but at ethical level to save human life and conserve biodiversity. The study recommends that all nations, regardless of level of economic development, be encouraged to mainstream the AICHI Biodiversity Targets in their national (local) developmental plans to ensure sustainable development agenda fulfilment. Also, as a precautionary measure, nations should embrace the "polluter-stops-polluting" against the usual "polluter–pays–principle". [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • The Environmental Quality Index is constructed based on dynamic data-driven methods. • Spatial Durbin Model is used to examine the environmental Kuznets curve in China. • Provincial spatial effects of environmental quality were strengthened since 2006. • Interdepartmental dependency accelerates the occurrence of the turning point of EQI. Abstract China is facing the challenge of maintaining sustainable economic growth in an environmental friendly manner. Therefore, it is of great necessity and importance to forecast the turning point of China’s environmental pollution. In this field, a frequently used empirical framework is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC); however, the majority of the literature examining the EKC has focused on specific pollutants, which may have led to controversial estimation results because of the different characteristics of various pollutants. Therefore, in this study, a self-assessed environmental quality index (EQI) is constructed across 8 environmental factors that account for important pollutants and environmental emergencies by using the overall entropy method, and this EQI index is used to investigate the existence of EKC in China. Moreover, given that many environmental pollutants, especially air pollutants, may flow across regions, appropriate spatial econometric tools are employed to account for the potential spatial dependence of the environmental quality. Using the panel data of 30 provinces and autonomous regions for the period 2006–2015, the empirical results indicate evidence for an N-shaped relationship between the EQI and income per capita; this suggests that the overall environmental quality in China would first worsen and then gradually improve as the economy continues to grow. In addition, good governance is an important factor to accelerate the occurrence of the turning point of EKC. For policymakers, targeted policies and industrial upgrades would favor relatively underdeveloped regions and improve environmental quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the existence of Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for panel data of three classifications of countries according to development level and energy orientation, such as consumption of energy, export of energy, import of energy, and share of renewable energy consumption over the period 1991-2010. We use the panel data method to estimate the model for three classifications of countries and do some treatment tests for the data. In general, we find support for the EKC only for middle development countries and for its rejection in other cases and there are different types of energy sources which are significantly affected emission per capita in every country classification. We also found that renewable energy has an important role for sustainable development and we may conclude that investment and joint agreement in clean energy can be significant factors to actualize sustainable development. Abstrak: Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menginvestigasi eksis­tensi Kurva Lingkungan Kuznets (EKC) pada data panel dari tiga klasifikasi negara menurut tingkat pembangunan ekonomi dan orientasi energi, seperti halnya konsumsi energi, ekspor energi, impor energi, dan penggunaan energi alternatif pada periode 1991-2010. Kami menggunakan metode data panel untuk mengestimasi model pada tiga klasifikasi negara dan melakukan tes beberapa metode ekonometrika dan statistika untuk data. Secara umum, ditemukan bahwa pembuktian untuk teori EKC hanya pada negara dengan tingkat pem­bangunan menengah dan terdapat penolakan dalam kasus kategori negara lainnya, serta adanya perbedaan jenis sumber energi yang signifikan mempengaruhi emisi per kapita di setiap klasifikasi negara. Kami juga menemukan bahwa energi alternatif memiliki peran penting bagi pembangunan berkelanjutan dan kami dapat menyimpulkan bahwa investasi dan kesepakatan bersama dalam energi ramah lingkungan dapat menjadi faktor yang signifikan untuk mewujudkan pembangunan berkelanjutan.

Copyright of Regional Studies is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper was to investigate the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for the period between 1977 and 2013 by using the sub-elements of carbon (CO) emissions in China. To this end, the fully modified ordinary least squares and pairwise Granger causality methodologies have been employed. As a result, it is found that financial development leads to an improvement in environmental performance in China for many kinds of pollution, including the following: liquid fuel pollution, solid fuel pollution, residential buildings and commercial and public services pollution, and electricity and heat production pollution. The findings indicate that an increase in per capita consumption of energy will lead to an increase in eight different sub-elements of the carbon emissions. The highest impact is for per capita CO emissions and the lowest impact is for liquid fuel CO emissions. The findings also suggest that the EKC hypothesis is valid for CO emissions from gaseous fuel consumption, liquid fuel consumption, solid fuel consumption and transportation. However, the EKC hypothesis is not valid for aggregate CO emissions, CO emissions from residential buildings and commercial and public services, from electricity and heat production and from manufacturing industries and construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to examine the causal relationship between CO emissions, real GDP, energy consumption, financial development, trade openness, and urbanization in Tunisia over the period of 1971-2012. The long-run relationship is investigated by the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration and error correction method (ECM). The results of the analysis reveal a positive sign for the coefficient of financial development, suggesting that the financial development in Tunisia has taken place at the expense of environmental pollution. The Tunisian case also shows a positive monotonic relationship between real GDP and CO emissions. This means that the results do not support the validity of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. In addition, the paper explores causal relationship between the variables by using Granger causality models and it concludes that financial development plays a vital role in the Tunisian economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the article is an introduction of Environmental Kuznets Curve as a concept, discu-ssion of its existence arising from empirical research for different pollutants and its theoretical explanation. The article includes own EKC research result concerning particulate matter in the air. Economic growth, measured as GDP per capita in a given country, is connected with increasing pollution, but after some turning point pollution starts declining. This relationship has an inverted U-shape and is called Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). EKC was first identified in a research by Grossman and Krueger from 1991 [8], other studies came after soon. In the air pollution EKC was identified for SO2, NOx a dark matter (smoke), in water pollution for biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, nitrates and some heavy metals (such as arsenic, cadmium or lead). EKC evidence for particulate matter (PM) is mixed, EKC wasn t found for CO or CO2 However, some authors consider evidence for EKC statistically weak. Standard explanation of EKC comes from [17]: &ldqou;As the development and industrailization progress, environmental damage increases due to greater use of natural resources, more emissions of pollutants, the operation of less effici-ent and relatively dirty technologies, the high priority given to increase in material output, and di-sregard for - or ignorance of - the environmental consequences of growth. However, as economic growth continues and life expectancies increase, claner water, improved air quality, and a generally cleaner habitat become more valuable…" EKC research has important policy implications: from some point environmental quality impro-ves with ecomic growth. Hence efforts to reduce economic growth to protect environment have in fact the opposite effect… [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]