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Climate change has been a pressing global issue in current times, which has seen many initiative programs set out to try and limit the rise in CO2 emissions globally. The main purposes of this study are to first determine if the importance of climate change research output has increased by undergoing a bibliometric analysis using the Clarivate Analytics core collection (between 1956 and 2019). Findings showed that the overall number of climate change-related research output has gone up exponentially from 1956 up to 2019 and that the proportion of climate change-related papers to total papers has gone up substantially during that period. Next will be to examine the causal dynamics between CO2 emissions, Research Output and expenditure on R&D (GERD), considering the role GDP plays with those variables for the top 50 climate change-related research output producing countries. This study also looks at this relationship by isolating developed vs developing countries and doing an income-based classification between the countries. Panel data techniques were employed as proposed by Emirmahmutoglu and Kose (Economic Modelling, 28: 870–876, 2011) for the period 1996–2019. From the Granger causality analysis, findings showed that causality runs from Research Output to CO2, CO2 to GERD and GDP to GERD for the entire sample. To account for any limitations in the test results, the individual WALD test statistics and p values for every country using the LA-VAR Granger causality method is also reported. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to define the optimal thresholds of publications and Research and Development (R&D) expenditure and to investigate their impacts on patenting in OECD and BRICS countries. To do so, we use a dataset of 25 countries divided into two country sub-samples for the period 1996-2013, employing the Panel Smooth Transition Regression (PSTR) model. The results indicate that the threshold of publications after which patenting activity is promoted is 8417 publications for the OECD countries and 20,848 for the BRICS countries, while the share of R&D in % of GDP should not exceed 1.683% for the OECD countries and 0.975% for the BRICS countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to review, summarize, and critically assess the academic studies that have dealt with either the causal relationship between energy consumption and growth or the determinants of energy demand in South Africa from 2007 and outline recent forecasts for electricity demand. The results of this review aim to identify gaps in the existing research. From a policy point of view, the findings of this effort have the potential to inform the relevant stakeholders to make appropriate interventions to improve the status quo of the energy sector. The results have indicated that studies examining the causality direction between energy (electricity) consumption and economic growth have failed to reach a consensus. The main differences identified were the time periods examined, the econometric approaches, and the variables included in the estimations. Another potential reason for the results is the availability—or lack thereof—of data specific for the country. On the other side, the studies looking at the factor affecting energy (electricity) demand have agreed that economic growth or income or output are considered significant factors. The role of prices was debatable among different studies. This has become more apparent when reviewing the few forecasting efforts in the country that resulted in conflicting results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The crucial role of environmental assessment quality has been recognised by environmental and sustainable development goals in addressing climate change challenges. By focusing on the key identifier of environmental assessment, progress can be made towards overcoming climate change issues effectively. The current study considers environmental commitments under COP28 to study the role of economic complexity, greenfield investments, and energy innovation in environmental degradation in newly industrialised economies from 1995 to 2021. We employ novel panel estimations from CS-ARDL, CS-DL, AMG, and CCEMG to confirm that economic growth and greenfield investments degrade environmental quality. On the other hand, energy innovation and urbanisation improve environmental sustainability. Lastly, we confirm the EKC hypothesis for economic complexity as well. Given the reported empirical findings, the study suggests policymakers must focus on economic complexity to transform industrial sectors' economic potential. Furthermore, foreign investment projects must be linked with environmental goals to increase renewable energy capacity., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), spearheaded by China, is anticipated to bolster trade, investment, and economic growth among participating countries to advance the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 7 through international trade. Within this context, renewable energy has emerged as a promising avenue to address environmental degradation and foster sustainable development. However, the impact of BRI's trade volume on renewable energy development and adoption in these nations remains unresolved. To address this, our study examines the influence of trade openness, foreign direct investment, economic growth, and oil prices on renewable energy consumption in 94 BRI countries with varying income levels from 2000 to 2019. Employing panel data analysis, including fixed effects (FE), random effects (RE), and the system generalised method of moments (GMM), we present findings across income groups: i) Trade openness exhibits a positive effect on renewable energy consumption in high-income and upper-middle-income countries; ii) In contrast, it diminishes renewable energy consumption in lower-middle-income countries; iii) Trade openness demonstrates insignificant effects on renewable energy consumption in low-income countries; iv) On the panel level, trade openness significantly and positively impacts renewable energy consumption. Our research underscores the significance of trade openness as a crucial instrument for advancing renewable energy development in high-income BRI countries, thereby fostering environmental sustainability. Policy interventions targeting renewable energy hold promise for enhancing environmental quality in low-income countries., (© 2023. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Empirical studies on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis have not reached a consensus on their findings because different environmental indicators are used, among other reasons. So, this study proposes using a composite index encompassing all dimensions of environmental pollution, using the composite environmental quality index (CEQI) which is introduced by Fakher et al. (Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(43): 61096-61114, 2021b). To do so, continuously updated fully modified (CUP-FM) and continuously updated bias-corrected (CUP-BC) techniques are used for the panel of selected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries and Organization in the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from 2000 to 2019. The findings show that the EKC hypothesis is confirmed in the inverted N-patterned relationship for the OPEC countries and an inverted U-patterned relationship for the OECD countries. Our findings also declare that consumption of renewable energies (REC) significantly increases environmental quality (EQ) while consumption of non-renewable energies (NREC) adds to environmental degradation (ED). Further, the role of financial development (FD) in our composite index is respectively negative and positive for sampled OPEC and OECD economies. The positive coefficient of combined trade share (CTS) in both groups of studied countries indicates that this variable works to reduce ED. Lastly, the implications of these findings for economic-environmental policies are discussed., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Environmental concerns have become one of the top inevitable issues the world has been facing nowadays. Human-induced carbon emissions are the main reasons behind these environmental issues and to reduce them and mitigate their consequences, policymakers globally explore their drivers and determinants continuously. Although several socio-economic factors have been explored that affect the level of emissions, relatively less attention has been paid to geopolitical risk (GPR). Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed a significant rise in GPR with economic and environmental impacts. However, the existing body of literature on the GPR-environment nexus documents the contrasting conclusion, which might cause inconvenience while proposing environmental protection policies. Therefore, the present study reinvestigates the impact of GPR on carbon emissions at the global level. The findings document that, in the short run, a 1% rise in GPR impedes emissions by 3.50% globally. On the contrary, a 13.24% rise in emissions is fostered by a 1% increase in GPR in the long run. Also as was expected, we report that energy consumption leads to higher global emissions in both the short and long run. Next, this study also validates the existence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis at the global level. Based on these aforementioned outcomes, we propose several policy recommendations to curb global carbon emissions via GPR accomplish, thus, a few sustainable development goals., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

The pollution haven hypo thesis (PHH) postulates that foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows can increase environmental deterioration in developing countries as multinational firms tend to transfer their dirty industries to these countries. Turkey, as a developing economy, has witnessed intense FDI inflows over the last decades. Within this scope, the goal of this paper is to examine whether the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) prevails in Turkey within the scope of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis over the period 1970-2016. To that end, the paper employs unit root and cointegration methods based on the nonlinear smooth transition models. The empirical findings of the paper indicate that both hypotheses are valid in Turkey. The findings also imply that environmental quality in Turkey is negatively related to electricity production from renewable energy sources., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Inward Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) plays an important role on the overall economic conditions of host countries, particularly the ones that are still in low developmental stages. South Africa (SA) as an example of this group of countries has also experienced intermittent electricity supply and increasing electricity tariffs since 2008. As the literature suggests that attracting FDI depends on the conditions of the host country, the main purpose of this study is to examine the impact that electricity prices and supply, as representatives of the energy conditions of SA as a host country, had to the attractiveness of FDI to SA. To do so, this study uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) cointegration approach for the period 1985 to 2018. The findings of the study indicated that indeed the initial hypotheses have been confirmed: (1) electricity supply is a positive contributor to inward FDI, ceteris paribus, and (2) electricity prices are a negative contributor to inward FDI, ceteris paribus.

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of economic structure of European countries into testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for European countries for the period 1980 to 2014. This study is inspired by the work of Lin et al. (J Clean Prod 133:712-724, 2016), which made the first effort to investigate the phenomenon looking only at African countries. The main finding of the study is that the overall economic growth is the factor with which CO 2 emissions exhibit an inverted U-shaped relationship in the studied country group. On the contrary, when using their industrial share as a proxy to capture the countries' economic structure, the EKC hypothesis is not confirmed - but a U-shaped relationship is confirmed. The industrial share decreases emissions through the development and absorption of technologies that are energy efficient and environmental friendly. The EKC hypothesis is confirmed when the aggregate GDP growth is considered, taking into account the improvement of the overall economic conditions of the countries regardless of the economic structure and role of industrialization.

Background: The circular economy framework for human production and consumption is an alternative to the traditional, linear concept of 'take, make, and dispose'. Circular economy (CE) principles comprise of 'design out waste and pollution', 'retain products and materials in use', and 'regenerate natural systems'. This commentary considers the risks and opportunities of the CE for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), acknowledging that LMICs must identify their own opportunities, while recognising the potential positive and negative environmental health impacts., Main Body: The implementation of the CE in LMICs is mostly undertaken informally, driven by poverty and unemployment. Activities being employed towards extracting value from waste in LMICs are imposing environmental health risks including exposure to hazardous and toxic working environments, emissions and materials, and infectious diseases. The CE has the potential to aid towards the achievement of the SDGs, in particular SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities). However, since SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) is critical in the pursuit of all SDGs, the negative implications of the CE should be well understood and addressed. We call on policy makers, industry, the health sector, and health-determining sectors to address these issues by defining mechanisms to protect vulnerable populations from the negative health impacts that may arise in LMICs as these countries domesticate the CE., Conclusion: Striving towards a better understanding of risks should not undermine support for the CE, which requires the full agency of the public and policy communities to realise the potential to accelerate LMICs towards sustainable production and consumption, with positive synergies for several SDGs.