Search Results (4)

In the context of the Environmental Phillips Curve hypothesis, this study investigates the impact of unemployment on environmental quality in ten emerging economies with the highest carbon emissions, as identified in the International Monetary Fund’s 2015 World Economic Outlook. The primary aim of this study is to estimate the effects of income, natural gas usage, renewable energy usage, unemployment, and population size on carbon dioxide emissions in the selected countries. The study utilizes panel data from 1990 to 2019 and employs an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model (ARDL) to evaluate the short- and long-run relationships between these variables. Findings obtained using the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator indicate that both income and population size have a significant positive impact on air pollution levels, whereas natural gas consumption and the use of renewable energy correlate with a decrease in emissions. The results support a negative correlation between unemployment and environmental degradation, aligning with the EPC. The error correction term suggests that the process returns to equilibrium in about 2.8 years. The findings are validated through robustness tests utilizing the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimators. This study offers important insights for environmental policymaking in these emerging economies, emphasizing the importance of sustainable development strategies and green energy adoption. Full article

In the context of increasing concerns about environmental sustainability and economic growth, this study evaluates the Environmental Phillips Curve hypothesis within Finland’s STIRPAT framework from 1990 to 2022. Finland is renowned for its commitment to environmental policies and renewable energy innovations, yet it faces challenges in balancing economic growth with environmental protection. The identified problem is the need to understand the trade-offs between economic growth and environmental impact in this specific context. Using the ARDL model, we analyze the effects of GDP per capita, renewable energy consumption (RENC), urbanization (URB), and unemployment rates (UR) on greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). Our findings show that while GDP and urbanization increase GHG emissions, renewable energy significantly reduces them. The Error Correction Model highlights quick adjustments toward equilibrium, reflecting the effectiveness of Finland’s environmental policies. Short-term results confirm the limited impact of urbanization on GHG emissions, possibly due to advanced urban planning. The FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR techniques further support these findings, emphasizing the importance of renewable energy in mitigating environmental impacts. This study provides crucial insights for policymakers seeking to balance economic growth with environmental sustainability in Finland. Full article

One of the conifers that survived after the last glaciation is the Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco. Due to the gradual increase in temperature, this species was forced to move from the south to the north and to higher elevation, causing a fragmented and intermittent distribution in Mexico. The main objective of this study was to model and identify suitable areas for the future conservation of the P. menziesii in Mexico. The specific objectives of this research were: (i) to model the habitat suitability of P. menziesii in Mexico, (ii) to identify the most relevant environmental variables based on its current and future habitat suitability (2030, 2050, 2070 and 2090) and (iii) to suggest areas for the conservation of the species in Mexico. Records were compiled from different national and international sources. Climate and topographic variables were used. With MaxEnt software version 3.4.3 (Phillips, New York, NY, USA) 100 distribution models were obtained, where the model showed an area under the curve of 0.905 for training and 0.906 for validation and partial ROC of 1.95 and Z reliable (p < 0.01), with TSS values > 0.80. The current area of the P. menziesii was 31,580.65 km². The most important variables in the current and future distribution were maximum temperature of the hottest month, precipitation of the coldest trimester and average temperature of the coldest trimester. The percentage of permanence (resilience) for the 2030, 2050, 2070 and 2090 climate horizons was 49.79%, 25.14%, 17.45% and 16.46%, respectively, for the SSP 245 scenario. On the other hand, for the SSP 585 scenario and the analyzed horizons, the percentage resilience in areas of suitable habitat zones was 41.45%, 27.42%, 9.82% and 2.89%. Full article

The present study is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs) that address pertinent global issues. This study focuses on the need for access to clean and affordable energy consumption, responsible energy consumption, sustainable economic growth, and climate change mitigation. To this end, this paper evaluates the relevance of the renewable energy sector on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain for the period 1995–2015. As an econometric strategy, we adopt the use of panel data over the highlighted countries. In the first step, we apply the unit root test recommended by Levin, Lin, and Chu in conjunction with ADF-Fisher, and Phillips-Perron for robustness and consistency. We found that the variables used in this study are integrated I (1) in the first difference. In the second step, we apply the Pedroni cointegration test, and Kao Residual cointegration test, and we observe that the variables are cointegrated in the long run. The generalized least squares (GLS), the panel fully modified least squares (FMOLS), ordinary least squares robust (OLS), and panel quantile regression are considered in this research. The econometric results validate the assumption of the environmental Kuznets curve, i.e., and there is a positive correlation between income per capita and a negative effect of squared income per capita on carbon dioxide emissions. In contrast, we observe that renewable energy reduces CO₂ emissions. Finally, we also find a direct connection between the urban population and the environmental degradation in the examined blocs. These results show that in Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain, more is required to achieve environmental sustainability in the respective countries growth trajectory. Further policy prescriptions are appended in the concluding section of this study. Full article