Sustainability

Research

19 pages, 403 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Energy Conservation and Emission-Reduction Effects of Green Finance: Evidence from China

by Runnan Jiang, Chengxiao Jin and Haoyu Wang

Sustainability 2024, 16(8), 3257; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16083257 - 13 Apr 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1582

The energy-saving and low-carbon development model is one of the important symbols of high-quality economic development. This article attempts to study the environmental effects of green finance from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, that is, to test whether green finance policies contribute to [...] Read more.

The energy-saving and low-carbon development model is one of the important symbols of high-quality economic development. This article attempts to study the environmental effects of green finance from both theoretical and empirical perspectives, that is, to test whether green finance policies contribute to achieving energy conservation and emission reduction. This article is based on provincial panel data from 2007 to 2020 in China and constructs a dynamic spatial Durbin model to examine the impact of green finance on environmental pollution and energy intensity. The results indicate that (1) green finance can achieve a dual effect of energy conservation and emission reduction simultaneously and has a significant promoting effect on energy conservation and emission reduction in neighboring regions. This conclusion is still valid after conducting robustness tests. (2) The energy-saving and emission-reduction effects of green finance exhibit significant regional heterogeneity, indicating that the performance of green finance is more outstanding in the eastern region with a higher level of economic development. (3) Mechanism testing has found that green finance can achieve energy-saving and emission-reduction effects through four channels: environmental regulation, credit allocation, enterprise profits, and enterprise innovation. Therefore, in order to further promote high-quality economic development, we need to build a comprehensive and multi-level green finance system, enrich the green finance policy toolbox, and smooth the transmission channels of green finance to promote green and stable economic development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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16 pages, 616 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Using Renewable Energy Resources on Sustainable Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

by Abdullah Sultan Al Shammre

Sustainability 2024, 16(3), 1324; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16031324 - 4 Feb 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2515

Abstract

This study examines the impact of renewable energy on sustainable development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2019 and analyzes the kingdom’s most essential practices in this field to achieve sustainable development. The Cobb–Douglas production function is used in this [...] Read more.

This study examines the impact of renewable energy on sustainable development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from 2000 to 2019 and analyzes the kingdom’s most essential practices in this field to achieve sustainable development. The Cobb–Douglas production function is used in this study to investigate the impact of renewable energy on sustainable development using ordinary least squares (OLS) estimation. According to the findings, renewable energy consumption has a negative but insignificant effect on GDP. Additionally, traditional energy consumption has a major negative influence on GDP. The findings also demonstrate that fixed capital formulation and technical progress have a significant positive impact on Saudi Arabia’s sustainable development. Furthermore, while the labor force has a positive impact on GDP, this effect is not statistically significant. This report provides some recommendations for Saudi government policymakers to reform the country’s energy efficiency and consumption technologies in order to reduce energy waste and satisfy the goals of sustainable development. While the labor force is recognized as having a positive influence on GDP, it is notable that this result lacks statistical significance. The suggestions of these findings are mainly applicable to Saudi policymakers, and we present recommendations to improve energy competence and utilization technologies. Specially, our suggestions are intended to reduce energy dissipation and to support the objectives of sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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22 pages, 944 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Climate Change, Technology Shocks and the US Equity Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

by Afees A. Salisu, Yinka S. Hammed and Ibrahim Ngananga Ouattara

Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14536; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914536 - 6 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1914

Abstract

Given the renewed interest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), we are keenly focused on exploring the possible connection between climate change and return volatility of US equity REITs, as well as the role of technology innovation for environmental sustainability in the nexus. [...] Read more.

Given the renewed interest in Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), we are keenly focused on exploring the possible connection between climate change and return volatility of US equity REITs, as well as the role of technology innovation for environmental sustainability in the nexus. While climate change might pose some threat to the REIT business, it is necessary to know the direction in which technological innovation can mitigate this impact. As a way to validate our evidence, we offer some additional analyses with alternative measures of technology shocks and the replacement of technology shocks with global economic expansion, as improvement in global economic activity could offer more investment options for investors to diversify their investment portfolio away from climate-prone assets. For completeness, the analyses are replicated for US mortgage REITs. Overall, we show that climate change heightens the return volatility of US equity REITs and that the former contains some predictive content for the latter. When the role of technology is examined, our results show that technology shock indeed reverses the cheering impact of temperature anomaly on the return volatility of US equity REITs. We show that these results are robust to alternative measures of economic shock and that the results equally hold for mortgage REITs. We further document some important implications of our findings for investors and policymakers alike. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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13 pages, 476 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Green Household Technology and Its Impacts on Environmental Sustainability in China

by Qin Meng, Jing-Wen Zhang, Yunxu Wang, Hsu-Ling Chang and Chi-Wei Su

Sustainability 2023, 15(17), 12919; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151712919 - 27 Aug 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1617

Abstract

China has made a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and promoting a green lifestyle is an essential means to this end. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the asymmetric impact of green household technology on environmental sustainability in [...] Read more.

China has made a commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, and promoting a green lifestyle is an essential means to this end. The primary aim of this study is to investigate the asymmetric impact of green household technology on environmental sustainability in China. To that end, we have employed linear and non-linear auto-regressive distributed lag models to identify this complicated effect. The empirical results suggest that green household technology’s positive change exerts significant and negative effect on carbon emission in the short and long terms. And the impacts of green household technology’s negative change on carbon emission are significantly negative but smaller than its positive change in the long run, while insignificant in the short term. The estimates endorse the asymmetric impact of green household technology on carbon emissions both in the short and long term. This finding suggests that the improvement of green household technology can reduce carbon emissions, while a decline in it causes carbon emissions to rise, and technological retrogression plays a less influential role than its development. This research is a groundbreaking point in discussing the way towards environmental sustainability from a green household technology perspective, which considers the asymmetric effect and provides meaningful insights for China to achieve sustainable development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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28 pages, 4852 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Just Energy Transition of South Africa in a Post-COVID Era

by Heinrich R. Bohlmann, Jessika A. Bohlmann, Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu and Roula Inglesi-Lotz

Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 10854; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151410854 - 11 Jul 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3753

Abstract

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have sparked global debate over how green economic recovery may and should be, and if the pandemic has accelerated the present energy transition while assuring a just transition for vulnerable populations such as unskilled workers and women. [...] Read more.

The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have sparked global debate over how green economic recovery may and should be, and if the pandemic has accelerated the present energy transition while assuring a just transition for vulnerable populations such as unskilled workers and women. This study investigates the socioeconomic impact of South Africa’s planned green energy transition, with a focus on the Mpumalanga province—the country’s largest coal mining region with many coal-fired power plants. Using a regional-dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model, the study analyses the economy-wide effects of different policy scenarios related to a changing electricity generation mix, investment financing costs, and international action against non-compliant industries, amongst others, with a specific focus on the vulnerable industries and population groups in Mpumalanga. Key results from the study highlights that (1) the structure of the Mpumalanga economy will be affected in the medium to long run regardless of the domestic transition path, (2) the Mpumalanga economy is indeed in danger of shrinking relative to the baseline, unless the Just Energy Transition (JET) is quickly and carefully managed, and (3) at a national level, at least, there is the strong possibility of a double dividend when greening the South African economy with overall economic growth and environmental outcomes expected to improve in the long run. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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21 pages, 2165 KiB

Open AccessArticle

MCDM-Based Ranking and Prioritization of Fisheries’ Risks: A Case Study of Sindh, Pakistan

by Ana Mehak, Yongtong Mu, Muhammad Mohsin and Xing-Can Zhang

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8519; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118519 - 24 May 2023

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2591

Abstract

The fisheries sector in developing countries, including Pakistan, faces various risks that have not been comprehensively studied and addressed through policy measures. This study aims to analyze fisheries’ risks in Pakistan by following a risk management process and using statistical analysis. The data [...] Read more.

The fisheries sector in developing countries, including Pakistan, faces various risks that have not been comprehensively studied and addressed through policy measures. This study aims to analyze fisheries’ risks in Pakistan by following a risk management process and using statistical analysis. The data was collected through structured questionnaire surveys, and subsequently, fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fuzzy AHP) and importance performance analysis (IPA) were utilized to analyze the data. The study ranked the top five risks in order of importance as management, technical, economic, environmental, and occupational risks. The study also identified high-importance, low-performance sub-factors, including inadequate legislative implementation, overexploitation, and infrastructure shortages. It was found that there is low risk perception and inadequate management regulations in the sector. The findings suggest that risk management strategies, such as risk avoidance and risk transfer, can be used to mitigate fisheries’ risks. The study highlights the need for policy measures to revitalize the fisheries sector in Pakistan and provides recommendations for further research. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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11 pages, 840 KiB

Open AccessCommunication

Climate Change and Inequality: Evidence from the United States

by Carolyn Chisadza, Matthew Clance, Xin Sheng and Rangan Gupta

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 5322; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15065322 - 17 Mar 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3314

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of climate change on income inequality in the United States. Computing impulse response functions (IRFs) from the local projections’ method, we empirically show that there is an immediate temporary positive response in income inequality from rising temperatures within [...] Read more.

This paper examines the effects of climate change on income inequality in the United States. Computing impulse response functions (IRFs) from the local projections’ method, we empirically show that there is an immediate temporary positive response in income inequality from rising temperatures within the first year. We also observe differences in the effects of temperature growth on inequality across different classifications, mainly states with high inequality and low temperature growth are more susceptible to changes in temperature growth than states with already high temperature growth and high inequality growth. States with low inequality growth exhibit similar positive effects on income inequality across low- and high-temperature-growth classifications. We find that the initial positive effect on income inequality is not permanent. However, if the effects of rising temperatures are unabated in the earlier periods, income inequality starts to rise in the later periods. Our results highlight an important pathway, that climate change can negatively affect sustainable development through increased income inequality. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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13 pages, 271 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Perceptions and Sustainable Consumption Behavior: The Disparity among South Africans

by Frederich Kirsten and Mduduzi Eligius Biyase

Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4847; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064847 - 9 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2565

Abstract

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of sociodemographic factors on the environmental perceptions and sustainable consumption behavior in South Africa, a country with the highest record of inequality in the world. Few studies have examined the ways in which [...] Read more.

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of sociodemographic factors on the environmental perceptions and sustainable consumption behavior in South Africa, a country with the highest record of inequality in the world. Few studies have examined the ways in which people in low-income countries perceive social and environmental problems. By using the International Social Survey Programme Environment III dataset for 2010, this study assessed the impact of sociodemographic factors on the environmental perceptions and sustainable consumption behavior of South Africans. The results show that environmental concern rates are highest among those with low socioeconomic status and African people. Since these individuals constitute the majority of the most vulnerable population in society, it supports the exposure to degradation hypothesis in a South African context. In contrast, sustainable consumption behavior rate is highest among those with high socioeconomic status, suggesting a strong post-materialist effect on pro-environmental consumption. From a policy perspective, environmental policymakers in South Africa could take note of the strong environmental concerns among those more vulnerable to daily environmental degradation and provide further incentives and support their transition to sustainable consumption behavior changes that would assist in environmental protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Environment, Climate, and Sustainable Economic Development)

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