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The new sustainable development goals (SDGs) call for actions to close the gap between the protection of the environment and the socio-economic development. To shed light on the link among economy, society, and ecology, this study assesses the ability of renewable energy to moderate the effects of CO 2 emissions on human development and economic growth for 31 transitional economies. Our findings substantiate that: (i) CO 2 emissions have unconditional negative effects on human development and economic growth; (ii) the net impacts on human development and economic growth are positive from the interplay between renewable energy and CO 2 emissions, i.e. renewable energy reduces the influences of per capita CO 2 emissions on human development and economic growth; (iii) renewable energy interacts with CO 2 intensity and CO 2 emissions from liquid fuel consumption to negatively influence economic growth and human development. To dampen these net negative effects, corresponding renewable energy thresholds were computed and discussed. Theoretical and empirical contributions, implications to policymakers, and practitioners are also discussed., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This article seeks to examine the impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy on carbon dioxide emissions for 14 Middle East and North Africa economies using fully modified least-squares and vector error correction model techniques. Different sectoral outputs (agricultural, industry, and services) are considered in the analysis to find the influence of each sector on carbon emissions and to validate the environmental Kuznets curve model at both aggregate and disaggregate levels. The fully modified least-squares estimates show that renewable energy enhances environmental quality, whereas non-renewable energy deteriorates it. We also find that the industry sector has the highest contribution to environmental degradation. The results of the vector error correction model technique show a two-way linkage between CO2 emissions and renewable energy and between CO2 emissions and non-renewable energy in both short and long runs. At the sectoral level, we also find a two-way linkage between agricultural value added and CO2 emissions, a unidirectional relationship running from emissions to industry value added, and a unidirectional linkage running from services value added to CO2 emissions in both short and long runs. Therefore, governments must focus their actions on environmental policies of a green and inclusive economy that combine tools of environmental economics with those of the ecological economy. This can be considered a call for policymakers to take relevant and quick policies and actions towards low-carbon energy to reach these dual objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends the existing literature on the health impacts of technological innovations by investigating both the direct effects of technological innovations on health outcomes and the indirect effects through economic growth, environmental performance, and renewable energy in the GCC countries. The study employs the three-step approach of Baron and Kenny (1986) to analyze the relationship between technological innovations and health outcomes. To ensure the validity of the analysis, several multiple preliminary tests are conducting, including assessments of cross-section dependence and slope homogeneity. The Augmented Mean Group (AMG) method is then utilized to explore the long-run estimates. The findings derived from the estimated health production function reveal that technological innovations have a direct positive impact on improving health outcomes, specifically in terms of life expectancy at birth and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). Furthermore, the study highlights the significant role of technological innovations in promoting economic growth, environmental performance, and renewable energy generation. However, when incorporating these mediating variables alongside technological innovations in the health production function, the direct effects of technological innovations on health outcomes becomes less significant. This suggests that economic growth and environmental performance act as transmission channels, linking technological innovations to improved health outcomes. It is crucial for policymakers in the GCC countries to prioritize the implementation of policies that foster technological innovations, was they possess the potential to not only drive economic growth but also enhance environmental performance, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. • We examine direct and indirect effects of technological innovations (TI) on health outcomes. • TI are found to have a direct positive impact on improving health outcomes. • TI significantly contribute to economic growth, environmental performance, and renewable energy generation. • Economic growth and environmental performance act as transmission channels, linking TI to improved health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian economy is dependent on energy use now and in the future because Australia is endowed with abundant, high quality and diverse energy resources, including both renewable and non-renewable resources. The major energy utilization sectors are electricity generation, transport sector and manufacturing which accounts in combination for more than 75% of Australia's total energy consumption. In this article, the time-series energy model for economic growth is reviewed and discussed first, and then an energy economic model is proposed in which decomposing the energy consumption in renewable and non-renewable energy and focuses on resilient strategic investment decisions on the electricity generation and transport sector. The proposed economic model will take a significant role in the long-run reduction of CO 2 and economic growth in Australia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The moderating effects of renewable energy and governance on environment- life satisfaction nexus is examined. • Different types of governance and environmental degradation are included in the analysis. • An unconditional negative impact of environmental degradation on life satisfaction is found. • The conditional impact of governance quality increases the level of life satisfaction. • Renewable energy, economic and institutional governance moderate the environment-life satisfaction nexus. This study develops an innovative empirical approach based on System Generalized Method of Moment method to explore the moderating effects of renewable energy investment and governance quality on the relationship between environmental degradation and life satisfaction using a sample of 36 emerging countries covering the period 2005–2014. Different categories of governance and environmental degradation are included in the analysis. The results highlight five key points: (i) there exists an unconditional impacts of the four indicators of environmental degradation on decreasing life satisfaction in all the estimated models; (ii) the conditional impact renewable energy increases life satisfaction in most of the estimated models; (iii) the conditional impact of governance quality, particularly general and economic governance, increases the level of life satisfaction; (iv) the interaction impacts of renewable energy and the indicators of environmental degradation on life satisfaction are positive in all the estimated models, meaning that renewable energy could be used as a policy variable that moderates the negative influence of the environmental degradation indicators on life satisfaction are positive in most of the estimated models, indicating that good governance, particularly economic and institutional governance, could be used as a policy factor that moderates the adverse influence of environmental degradation on life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article extends the previous studies on environmental economics literature by examining a possible relationship between economic growth, green energy, and environmental quality. Specifically, this article investigated the three-way linkage between economic growth, renewable energy, and environmental quality in the case of Saudi Arabia using the simultaneous equation modeling approach over the period of 1990–2016. The following are the main findings obtained: (i) a unidirectional causal impact of economic growth on renewable energy consumption was found, confirming the conservation hypothesis; (ii) bidirectional relationships between economic growth and CO2 emissions and between CO2 emissions and renewable energy consumption were also found; (iii) the failure of renewable energy in Saudi Arabia to close the gap between growing the economy and protecting the environment in Saudi Arabia; (iv) the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis was supported. Policy implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the existing environmental economics literature by examining the short- and long-run impacts of renewable and nuclear energy consumption on CO 2 emissions in the case of 15OECD countries over the period 1990–2018 using both the Fully Modified OLS (FMOLS) and the vector error correction model approach (VECM) estimation methods. The results of the FMOLS show that: (i) investment in nuclear energy reduces CO 2 emissions in Canada, Netherlands, Japan, Switzerland, Czech Republic and UK, (ii) investment in renewable energy reduces CO 2 emissions in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, UK, US, Japan, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic; however, it increases CO 2 emissions in Netherlands and South Korea, and (iii) both nuclear and renewable energy consumption reduces carbon emissions for the panel estimations. Moreover, the results of the VECM method show that nuclear and renewable energies reduce CO2 emissions in the long-term. Our results suggest that the best option to reduce CO 2 emissions is to aim for a mix of nuclear and renewable energy. No need to choose. On the contrary: the two sources of energy are complementary. Policy implications are also discussed. Image 1 • Investment in nuclear energy and renewable energy reduced CO2 emissions in Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Sweden, UK, US, Japan, Switzerland, Finland, Czech Republic; however, it increases CO2 emissions in Netherlands and South Korea. • Both nuclear and renewable energy consumption reduces carbon emissions for the panel estimations. • The best option to reduce CO2 emissions is to aim for a mix of nuclear and renewable energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Closing the gap between carbon emissions and economic development is one of the solutions for reaching the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The role of renewable energy in rebalancing environmental and economic conditions is becoming a significant subject of some debates in the current discussion circles. Hence, the main purpose of this article is to use both growth and environmental functions to demonstrate the effectiveness of renewable energy in promoting economic growth and mitigating carbon emissions in the case of 15 major renewable energy-consuming countries using both fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and vector error correction model (VECM) estimation techniques. The results of the FMOLS method show the efficiency of renewable energy in increasing economic growth and reducing carbon emissions. We also find, from the VECM Granger causality test, that there is (i) a bidirectional causality between economic growth and renewable energy inshort- and long-run for both estimated functions, validating the feedback hypothesis; (ii) no causal relationship between CO 2 emissions and renewable energy in the long-run, but a bidirectional causality between the two variables is found in the short-run; (iii) a bidirectional relationship between economic growth and CO 2 emissions is found in both short and long-run. Policy and practical implications and future research directions are also discussed. • Using the fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and the vector error correction model (VECM) techniques. • A bidirectional causality between economic growth and renewable energy inshort and long-run for both models, validating the feedback hypothesis. • A bidirectional relationship between economic growth and CO 2 emissions in both short and long run. • No causal relationship between CO 2 emissions and renewable energy in the long run, but a bidirectional causality between the two variables is found in the short run. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We examine the effect of political stability on renewable energy production (RENP) • We investigate whether the financial development affect RENP • Support for our hypotheses has been provided based on panel quantile approach • The effect of political stability index on REP is heterogeneous. • We argued that financial development affects positively renewable energy production • The findings could guide the necessary energy policy transformation in MENA Region With the growing pressure from the adverse impact of environmental pollution and climate change, the deployment of renewable sources is becoming one of the economic priorities for governments worldwide. Despite potential gains of renewable sources, little evidence is provided in the literature about the determinants of renewable energy deployment in the MENA region. In particular, whether political stability, governance quality and financial development matter or not for unleashing the potentials of renewable energy programs. To this end, this paper aims to fill the gap by examining the impact of political stability, quality of governance and institutions, and financial development on the deployment of renewable energy production in 9 selected MENA countries using annual data over the period 1984-2014. Accordingly, an innovative panel quantile regression model with non-additive fixed effect has been developed to tackle this issue. Our findings confirm that the effect of political stability is clearly heterogeneous and supports earlier claims about the importance of political stability to foster investments in the renewable energy sector. Findings also show that financial development has a positive impact on renewable energy production. In addition, we also find that the interaction term between governance effectiveness and financial development is negative for the lower quantiles but positive for the highest quantiles. These findings support our hypotheses and suggest that political stability, governance effectiveness, and financial development are essential drivers for promoting renewable energy production in the MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]