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Information and communication technology (ICT), technological innovation, and renewable energy (REN) consumption have been proffered as solutions to the recent environmental tragedies in developed countries. In recent times, ICT diffusion and technological innovation have improved in G7 countries, but the same cannot be said of REN consumption. As such, this study examines the link between ICT, economic complexity, technological innovation, REN, and ecological footprint (EF) for G7 countries over the period 1990–2020. We use three variables (fixed telephone subscriptions [FTS], mobile cellular subscriptions [MCS], and individuals using the internet [IUI]) to represent ICT. The presence of cross‐sectional dependence guides the use of second‐generation econometric methods for slope heterogeneity, unit root, cointegration, and parameter estimation. The augment mean group (AMG) estimator and panel OLS techniques are applied to complement the method of moment quantile regression (MM‐QR) approach. The MM‐QR results suggest that REN consumption and technological innovation impede the EF across all quantile levels (0.1–0.9), whereas economic growth and economic complexity augment the EF in G7 countries. The ICT variables have heterogeneous effects on the EF, suggesting that the impact of ICT on the EF depends on the estimation techniques and proxy for the variable. In line with these outcomes, public policies directed toward funding technological innovation projects are recommended. The funding should specifically focus on environmentally friendly technologies that can guarantee complementarity between reduced environmental damage and increased economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, the tourism and hospitality sector has not only witnessed significant growth but also contributed tremendously to economic progress with lease inputs. This fastest-growing sector creates a number of environmental challenges, especially in emerging markets where the carbon footprint of tourism constitutes a large share of CO2 emissions. This study explores the effect of international tourism, renewable energy consumption (REN), and eco-friendly technology on CO2 emissions in emerging markets. The AMG, Driscoll-Kraay and Prais-Winsten regression confirm the adverse effects of international tourism on the environment, whereas technological innovation and REN mitigate CO2 emissions. Furthermore, economic growth and population increase CO2 emissions, while foreign direct investment (FDI) reduces CO2 emissions. Although the direct effect of technological innovation is insignificant, the indirect impact is negative and statistically significant; confirming the moderating effect of eco-friendly technology on the relationship between international tourism and CO2 emissions. The MMQR results suggest that REN reduces CO2 emissions across all quantiles. On the other hand, technological innovation significantly reduces CO2 emissions in lower and median quantiles, whereas international tourism and economic growth reduce CO2 emissions across all quantiles. Various directions of causality were reported alongside relevant policy directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tourism contributes approximately one‐fifth to total global employment. However, growth in tourism can promote an increase in transportation, energy consumption, natural resource exploration, and consequential ecological distortions. This study applies a battery of second‐generation econometric techniques to investigate the influence of tourism development and natural resource on a comprehensive environmental indicator; the ecological footprint (EF), in the ten most visited destinations. The findings show that tourism receipts have an increasing effect on EF, while tourism arrivals have a reducing effect on EF. The country‐wise results reveal that tourism receipts increase the EF in China, Italy, Spain, and the UK, while the reverse holds true for France, Germany, Thailand, Turkey, Mexico, and the US. The influence of natural resource on the EF is mixed. Natural resource increases the EF in China, France, Germany, Spain, and the UK. A feedback causality exists among EF, natural resource, and tourism development. Policy directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature reveals that linear models do not accurately represent the asymmetric relationship between economic growth and energy consumption (EC). To fill this gap, we examined the asymmetric relationship between EC and economic growth in a non-linear panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) framework of 85 countries as a whole sample and of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS), the Next Eleven, Big Four in Western Europe, Asia-Pacific region, Group of Seven, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the Arab League as a sub-sample analysis from 1977 to 2014. A second generational unit root test has been applied to check the problem of cross-sectional dependency. Asymmetric co-integration was employed to analyse the co-integration between the variables of interest. Long-run and short-run estimates have been calculated using the non-linear panel ARDL method. Results indicate that positive shocks to energy use tend to have a growth-enhancing effect in ECO and the Next Eleven while in the rest of the regions, the effect is growth contraction. Moreover, economic recovery from a positive shock to energy use is the case in the Arab League, Asia-Pacific region, Group of Seven and in the whole sample. However, a negative shock to EC is observed in the Group of Seven, Asia Pacific region, Big Four in Western Europe and ECO, and the whole sample worsens the economic contraction. We can deduct from this study's results that information on the asymmetric relationship between the subject variables is needed to design sound economic policy decisions across different economic regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

South Africa is the largest emitter of CO2 and arguably the most developed and urbanised country in Africa. The country currently harbours an ecological deficit territory which could be the outcome of economic expansion, urban explosion, unsustainable resource exploration and a low level of human development. After all, environmental distortions are mainly the outcome of human activities. This study is a maiden attempt to examine the linkage between urbanisation, human capital, natural resources (NR) and the ecological footprint (EF) in South Africa. Unlike previous studies, this study employs positivist and relevant environmental indicators that accommodate built-up land, forest land, carbon footprint, ocean, grazing land and cropland. Findings from the long-run results suggest that urbanisation, economic growth and NR increase the EF, whereas human capital ensures environmental sustainability. The interaction between urbanisation and human capital mitigates environmental degradation by reducing the EF. The canonical cointegrating regression (CCR), dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS) and the fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS) results further confirm the nature of the relationships and linkages existing with respect to NR, urbanisation, economic growth and the EF. A bidirectional causality exists between human capital, economic growth and the EF. Policies related to NR and urban sustainability, the limitations of the study, as well as possible directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study empirically explores the linkage between urbanization and deforestation while controlling for the role of energy consumption, trade openness, and economic growth within recent data from 1971 to 2015. To do this, we employed the vector error correction‐Granger causality approach and Pesaran's autoregressive distributed lag cointegration technique. The Bayer–Hanck cointegration test establishes an equilibrium relationship among the variables. Results reveal that economic growth, energy consumption, and urbanization have a significant impact on deforestation in Nigeria, thereby reducing the quality of the environment. Short‐ and long‐run unidirectional casualty flows from urbanization to deforestation. Therefore, policies for reducing deforestation and enhancing environmental sustainability for growth and development were suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study explores the importance of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on CO2 abatement in Africa from 1990 to 2014 with available balanced panel data for selected 19 countries employing the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimation technique. The study adopts both first-and-second-generation unit root and cointegration tests. Findings affirm cointegration among the variables. Results from the AMG estimate reveal that while renewable energy inhibits CO2 emissions insignificantly in Africa, non-renewable energy increases CO2 emissions significantly. Country-specific results reveal that the influence of both types of energy sources on CO2 emissions vary in terms of the nature of the relationship, the magnitude of influence and the level of significance. We further observed a one-way causality from renewable & non-renewable energy to CO2 emissions. Based on findings, policies for enhancing growth and curtailing environmental degradation with a view to achieving sustainable development were suggested. Unlabelled Image • We examined the role of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions in Africa. • Renewable energy inhibits CO2 emissions insignificantly in Africa. • Non-renewable energy increases CO2 emissions significantly. • The influence of both types of energy sources on CO2 emissions vary across countries. • A unidirectional causality is observed from renewable & non-renewable energy consumption to CO2 emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent decades, information and communication technology (ICT) has revolutionized the world affecting every aspect of life, including education, business, social activities, and environment. Consequently, the studies linking ICT and environmental sustainability are growing owing to its positive and adverse effects on environmental sustainability, and the noticeable disagreement in literature. Therefore, current work examines the criticality of ICT, human capital (education and return on education), and globalization in environmental sustainability, controlling urbanization and economic growth in the Latin American and Caribbean (LCA) region, where economic growth and globalization have substantially increased over the past three decades. Reliable panel econometric techniques, including second-generation unit root tests, Westerlund (2007, 2008) cointegration tests, and continuously-updated fully modified (CUP-BC) and continuously-updated bias-corrected (CUP-FM) long-run estimators are employed on the data for the period 1995–2017. The empirical estimations unfold that ICT (computed by a four components ICT index) and globalization contribute to reduce CO 2 emissions. On the dark side, economic growth and urbanization degrade environment. Surprisingly, human capital adds to environmental degradation. The panel causality results reveal that ICT and globalization Granger cause CO 2 emissions. These unique findings provide new insight to alleviate environmental degradation in the LCA region. Based on these outcomes, a comprehensive set of policies are directed for environmental sustainability. Image 1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the quest for a clean and sustainable environment, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8 stipulates the need to reduce carbon emissions, decarbonize the energy system, improve energy consumption and ensure the attainment of sustainable energy. In the same vein, SDG 9 pertains to the prevention of environmental degradation, promoting biodiversity and preserving the ecosystem to support inclusive human and economic development. Given the hazardous impact of carbon emissions, if left unabated, and the benefits of preserving nature's ecosystem, the motivation for this study hinges on analyzing factors that threaten a sustainable environment using two proxies of environmental degradation: carbon emissions and ecological footprint. With a battery of static and dynamic econometric techniques on a sample of 44 selected African countries from 1992 to 2016, findings reveal the following: (1) energy usage deteriorates the environment, and (2) urbanization has asymmetric effects on the environment. Controlling for per capita GDP, financial development and gross fixed capital formation, evidence suggests that per capita GDP has an asymmetric impact, financial development accelerates environmental degradation, while gross fixed capital formation intensifies a sustainable environment. Policy outcomes and implications for sustainability are discussed. • Various determinants of CO 2 emissions and ecological (EF) footprint are explored. • Financial development increases CO 2 emissions and EF. • Energy consumption adds to the EF. • Gross fixed capital formation exacerbates CO 2 emissions, but declines the EF. • Urbanization has asymmetric effects on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We assessed the climate change impact on wheat production in China. • We employed the FGLS, DOLS, and D–K estimation techniques. • Temperature negatively affected wheat production in the long–run. • Precipitation contributed positively to wheat production in the long-run. • Agro–chemical input (fertilizer use) enhanced wheat production in the long–run. Northern and Southern regions are the two major wheat production belts of China. Agro–climatic resources have changed significantly in recent years, threatening staple food production in these regions. As a result, it is critical to investigate the long–term effect of climate change and agri–inputs on wheat production in China's top six wheat producing provinces (Hebei, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Anhui, and Hubei) from 1995 to 2020. The estimated long-run results from the FGLS, DOLS, and D–K estimators revealed that climatic factors, specifically temperature, had a negative impact on wheat production, while precipitation had a positive impact. The findings also revealed that agrochemical inputs, such as fertilizer, increases wheat production, whereas pesticide use decreases wheat production significantly. The results from the Dumitrescu–Hurlin panel causality test showed a bidirectional causality between rainfall, fertilizer use, and cultivated area with wheat production, while a unidirectional causality association is running from labor force to wheat production. The current study provides several critical policy recommendations for China's sustainable food production through green agricultural practices and robust climate mitigation strategies. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncertainty is an overarching aspect of life that is particularly pertinent to the present COVID-19 pandemic crisis; as seen by the pandemic's rapid worldwide spread, the nature and level of uncertainty have possibly increased due to the possible disconnects across national borders. The entire economy, especially the tourism industry, has been dramatically impacted by COVID-19. In the current study, we explore the impact of economic policy uncertainty (EPU) and pandemic uncertainty (PU) on inbound international tourism by using data gathered from Italy, Spain, and the United States for the years 1995–2021. Using the Quantile on Quantile (QQ) approach, the study confirms that EPU and PU negatively affected inbound tourism in all states. Wavelet-based Granger causality further reveals bi-directional causality running from EPU to inbound tourism and unidirectional causality from PU to inbound tourism in the long run. The overall findings show that COVID-19 has had a strong negative effect on tourism. So resilient skills are required to restore a sustainable tourism industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research evaluated the role of non-renewable and renewable energy consumption in environmental sustainability following the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve framework controlling financial development, population density, and composite trade share. Unlike previous studies, this research used six indices to depict environmental deterioration and environmental quality. More precisely, pressures on nature, ecological footprints, environmental vulnerability, and adjusted net saving are employed to represent environmental deterioration, while environmental performances and environmental sustainability are adopted to proxy environmental quality. The Dynamic Seemingly Unrelated Regression Equations were used on panel data from 1994 to 2019 in the selected Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. The findings revealed the N-shaped linkage between per capita income and environmental deterioration indicators, such as ecological footprints, adjusted net saving, pressures on nature, and environmental vulnerability. Regarding the linkage between environmental quality indicators, including environmental performances and environmental sustainability, and per capita income, an inverted N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve is verified. Considering all six environmental indicators, non-renewable energy tends to deteriorate the environment, while the use of renewable energy promotes environmental quality. Moreover, population density, financial development, and composite trade share raise environmental deterioration. The results are vital for achieving a green economy with better environmental quality. [Display omitted] • Renewable & non-renewable energy and environmental indicators nexuses are studied. • Dynamic seemingly unrelated regression equations are applied. • The N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework is followed. • Concerning four environmental indices, the N-shaped EKC is confirmed. • The inverted N-shaped EKC is verified for two environmental indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]