Investigating the asymmetric effects of renewable energy-carbon neutrality nexus: Can technological innovation, trade openness, and transport services deliver the target for Germany?

Abstract

The present millennium records the most devastating effects of global warming than what was evident in the pre-industrial era. The pervasive effects of global warming have raised concerns about the sustainability of the present and future generations. Hence, researchers are working assiduously towards proffering the most effective method of halting the surging emissions from global, regional, and national angles. This study contributes to the extant literature by providing the first empirical verification of how renewable energy, technological innovations, trade openness, and transport services impact carbon emissions in Germany. The empirical evidence is anchored on annual time series data from 1990 to 2020 estimated using the novel nonlinear ARDL to explore the positive and negative shocks associated with the short and long-run nexus. The wavelet coherence estimator is equally for ascertaining the multiple time scales in the time series and extends the knowledge frontier to the literature. The following findings are eminent from the overall analyses. First, long-run cointegration is supported among the variables of interest Second, only the adverse effects of renewable energy and technology are substantial enough to mitigate carbon emissions. The trade-induced emissions are established with the positive impacts of trade openness on carbon emissions. Transport services contribute significantly to carbon emissions in the long-run and short-run periods. However, mitigating effects of small magnitude are apparent in the long-run due to the perceived transition to green transportation. Policy implications supporting the transition to 100% renewable energy and green transportation are significant steps towards achieving Germany's carbon neutrality target.

Do renewable energy consumption and financial development contribute to environmental quality in MINT nations? Implications for sustainable development

“…Thus, when formulating policies on EF, the regressors (RENC, FDI, EGR, and PD) should be considered. These results are also documented by prior studies (Nathaniel et al, 2021;Beton Kalmaz and Awosusi, 2022;Ibrahim et al, 2022;Ojekemi et al, 2022;.…”

“…We propose that considerable EF mitigation in the MINT nations may be achieved by extensive investment in current and future renewable energy projects and economic activity management. Several studies such as (Ibrahim et al, 2022), (Abbasi et al, 2022), and (Acheampong et al, 2019) documented similar results.…”

“…The author further suggests that China needs to restructure its economic growth policies by considering the ecological quality. Likewise, the recent study on (Ibrahim et al, 2022) in Germany using the innovative wavelet and nonlinear ARDL reported that the main mitigation of ecological quality is EGR. The study further reinforces that Germany needs to impose a high tax on polluting industries.…”

The Race to Zero Emissions in MINT Economies: Can Economic Growth, Renewable Energy and Disintegrated Trade Be the Path to Carbon Neutrality?

“…Overusing energy puts a lot of strain on the ecosystem [8]. Nevertheless, green energy (such as solar, biomass, wind, hydro, and geothermal) results in less CO 2 than using fossil fuels, which are thought to be the primary cause of global warming and CO 2 emissions [9].…”

“…This paper adds to the ongoing literature in three distinct ways: Firstly, the present investigation considered the impact of disintegrated trade by evaluating the role of imports and exports on CCO 2 emissions. Secondly, unlike prior studies such as [8,[22][23][24][25] that used CO 2 emissions to gauge environmental degradation, the current investigation used CCO 2 emissions to measure ecological deterioration. As stated by [26], the CCO 2 is a comprehensive measure of ecological damage because it helps differentiate emissions produced in one country and consumed in another.…”