Probing environmental sustainability pathways in G7 economies: the role of energy transition, technological innovation, and demographic mobility

Abstract

Global warming remains the most devastating environmental issue embattling the global economies, with significant contributions emanating from CO 2 emissions. The continued rise in the level of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions serves as a compelling force which constitutes the core of discussion at the recent COP26 prompting nations to commit to the net-zero emission target. The current research presents the first empirical investigation on the roles of technological advancement, demographic mobility, and energy transition in G7 pathways to environmental sustainability captured by CO 2 emissions per capita (PCCO2) from 2000 to 2019. The study considers the additional impacts of structural change and resource abundance. The empirical backings are subjected to pre-estimation tests consisting of cross-sectional dependence, second-generation stationarity, and panel cointegration tests. The model estimation is based on cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag, dynamic common correlated effects mean group, and augmented mean group for the main analysis and robustness checks. The findings reveal the existence of EKC based on the direct and indirect effects of the components of economic growth. The indicators of demographic mobility differ in the direction of influence on PCCO2. For instance, while rural population growth negatively influences PCCO2 in the short-run alone, urban population growth increases PCCO2 in the short-run and long-run periods. Nonrenewable energy, information computer technology (ICT) imports, and mobile cellular subscriptions serve as positive predictors of PCCO2, while ICT exports and renewable energy moderate the surge in PCCO2. Policy implications that enhance environmental sustainability are suggested following the empirical verifications.

The impact of green innovation and renewable energy on CO2 emissions in G7 nations

“…In the same vein, Akram et al [ 30 ], confirmed our findings for G7 countries and claimed that ECI, as a technological approach, contributes to curbing CDE. Moreover, Ibrahim et al [ 89 ], stated that ECI is the pathway to the neutralization of CDE and environmental sustainability in G7 economies. In the OECD context, Bigerna et al [ 90 ], highlighted the importance of ECI as the primary inhibitor factor for CDE.…”

Nudging Sustainable Development: Reviewing Energy Transition and Economic Development

“…It was found in [5] that in the process of global economic development, emerging economies such as China and India have been driving the world's energy demand upwards. Scholars have begun to incorporate an increasing number of factors into their considerations, utilizing past data to explore the relationship between energy transition and economic growth [27,28], the application of new energy sources, and other elements influencing regional economic development [22,29,30]. Furthermore, factors such as foreign direct investment (FDI), domestic trade, domestic financial development, and the growth of the digital economy have varying degrees of influence on a country's energy transition and emissions [8,17,[31][32][33].…”

Can Land Transfer Promote Agricultural Green Transformation? The Empirical Evidence from China

“…For example, Luo et al (2020) found that the establishment of major grain-producing areas was conducive to reducing agricultural carbon emissions [30]. Using the data of G7 countries, Ibrahim et al (2023) found that economic growth would intensify carbon emissions [31].…”