A pioneering study led by a researcher from Near East University provides valuable insights into the potential of green resource productivity, renewable energy, and economic globalization in driving the pursuit of carbon neutrality in leading energy transition economies. This research is particularly relevant in the context of global Sustainable Development Goals, focusing on affordable and clean energy, decent work and economic growth, and climate action.

The study, conducted between 1990 and 2021, employed both asymmetric and symmetric econometric methods to assess the impacts of various factors on carbon emissions. The Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) revealed that green resource productivity, renewable energy, and economic globalization play significant roles in reducing CO2 emissions, while economic growth tends to increase emissions. These findings are crucial in understanding the complex interplay between economic development and environmental sustainability.

Further, the study disaggregated economic globalization into trade and financial globalization, exploring their distinct impacts on CO2 emissions. Interestingly, financial globalization was found to mitigate emissions across all quantiles, while trade globalization had a positive impact on lower and middle quantiles. These results highlight the nuanced effects of different aspects of globalization on environmental outcomes.

The research also explored the causal relationships between these variables, employing the Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality test. It was found that there is a bi-directional causality between renewable energy and CO2 emissions, indicating a feedback loop. Additionally, financial globalization and CO2 emissions also exhibited a feedback causality association. In contrast, a one-way causality flowed from CO2 emissions to trade globalization, from economic globalization to CO2 emissions, and from economic growth to CO2 emissions.

This study is significant as it broadens the understanding of environmental sustainability in key energy transition economies, including Sweden, Denmark, Australia, France, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The findings provide important policy implications, suggesting that focusing on renewable energy, green resource productivity, and certain aspects of economic globalization can effectively contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions and the pursuit of carbon neutrality, aligning with global sustainability goals.

For further details, access the original paper from the publisher’s link:

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13504509.2023.2192007