Impact of globalisation, remittances and human capital on environmental quality: Evidence from landlocked African countries

Abstract

Studying environmental quality is essential for promoting sustainable development and ensuring a healthy and prosperous future for all, as it directly affects human health, well‐being, and quality of life. This paper looks at how globalisation, remittances, human capital, foreign direct investment, and financial growth affect carbon dioxide emissions in landlocked African countries from 1980 to 2018. The study looks at the elasticities between study factors by using second‐generation tests, as well as Continuously‐updated and Fully Modified (Cup‐FM) and Continuously‐updated and Bias‐Corrected (Cup‐BC) tests. The results show that remittances, human capital, natural resources, and income growth all make the environment worse by increasing CO2 emissions, whilst globalisation, foreign direct investment, and financial development all make it better by reducing emissions. The panel causality analysis shows that there are two ways in which transfers and CO2 emissions cause each other, but only one way in which CO2 emissions cause globalisation. Globalisation should be implemented sustainably to avoid irreversible long‐term environmental impacts that deprive future generations of the chance to prosper or maintain their quality of life. It should also empower people and reduce inequality in landlocked countries.