Achieving Environmental Sustainability in Africa: The Role of Renewable Energy Consumption, Natural Resources, and Government Effectiveness—Evidence from Symmetric and Asymmetric ARDL Models

Abstract

This study investigates the symmetric and asymmetric linkages within environmental sustainability proxied by ecological footprint (EFP), natural resources (NRR), renewable energy consumption (REC), urbanization (URB), human capital (HC), and government effectiveness (GE) in 27 African countries divided into two subgroups (ecological deficit countries and ecological reserve countries) over the period 1990 to 2018. The study employs the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to investigate the symmetric (linear) effect and the nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to study the asymmetric (nonlinear) effects of the variables on EFP. Results of ARDL show that a 1% increase in REC is projected to reduce ecological footprint by 0.17 and 0.2% in ecological deficit and ecological reserve countries. A 1% increase in NRR is estimated to increase ecological footprint by 0.02% in ecological deficit countries but has no impact on the environment in countries with ecological reserves. Similarly, a 1% rise in GE is estimated to increase EFP by 0.04% in Africa but has no impact on the environment in ecological deficit countries. NARDL estimations decomposed REC into positive (negative) shocks, which show that a 1% increase (decrease) in REC is projected to decrease EFP by 0.16% (0.13%) in countries with ecological reserves. Similarly, a positive (negative) shock in NRR is expected to decrease EFP in ecological reserve countries and increase EFP in ecological deficit countries. Results of the Wald tests prove the existence of long-run asymmetry among the variables. The findings indicate that renewable energy consumption enhances environmental quality, while economic growth and natural resource rents reduce environmental quality in Africa over the sampled period.

The Role of Government Effectiveness in the Light of ESG Data at Global Level

“…GE has a positive impact in reducing the high rate of homicides in Latin America [11]. GE increases the environmental sustainability, especially in low-income per capita countries [12]. The application of digitalization to the delivery of public services has created a new dimension of GE i.e.…”

“…References GE, Covid 19 Pandemic and Health Issues [7], [8], [20], [23], [40] GE, Public Debt and Taxation [9], [15], [27], [41] GE, Cultural, Educational and Social Issues [10], [26], [43] GE, Institutions and Legal Order [11], [21], [25], [32], [35], [31], [47] GE, Energy and Environmental Sustainability [12], [16], [18], [19], [30], [24] GE, e-Government, and ITC Sector [13], [14], [24], [22], [34], [36], [37], [39], [46] GE, Economic Growth and Development [22], [28], [33], [44], [45] Methodology and Statistical Analysis [48], [49], [50], [51], [52], [53], [54], [1] Theoretical Frameworks [42], [17], [2], [5],...…”

The Role of Government Effectiveness in the Light of ESG Data at Global Level

“…Control of corruption improves GE [47]. [7], [8], [20], [23], [40] GE, Public Debt and Taxation [9], [15], [27], [41] GE, Cultural, Educational and Social Issues [10], [26], [43] GE, Institutions and Legal Order [11], [21], [25], [32], [35], [31], [47] GE, Energy and Environmental Sustainability [12], [16], [18], [19], [30], [24] GE, e-Government, and ITC Sector [13], [14], [24], [22], [34], [36], [37], [39], [46] GE, Economic Growth and Development [22], [28], [33], [44], [45] Methodology and Statistical Analysis [48], [49], [50], [51], [52], [53], [54], [1] Theoretical Frameworks …”

Moving towards Environmental Sustainability: Can Digital Economy Reduce Environmental Degradation in China?

“…In terms of factors influencing environmental sustainability, the environmental Kuznets curve has been discussed extensively by scholars [ 25 , 26 , 27 ], who generally believe that economic growth and environmental degradation exhibit an inverted-U relationship. In addition, other economic factors are also proven to have a significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions and environmental sustainability, including urbanization [ 28 , 29 ], financial development [ 30 , 31 ], foreign direct investment [ 32 , 33 ], trade [ 34 , 35 ], renewable energy consumption [ 36 , 37 ], and so on. In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of noneconomic factors on environmental sustainability, including environmental regulation [ 38 , 39 ], climate factors [ 40 ], research and development level [ 41 ], innovation factors [ 42 , 43 ], and technological progress [ 44 , 45 ].…”