Green energy innovation initiatives for environmental sustainability: current state and future research directions.

Worldwide, all countries have been facing the crisis of climate change problem. They have been addressing this issue by focusing on implementing green energy innovation initiatives and promoting a sustainable future through environmental sustainability. In this research study, we focus on examining the role of green finance through green energy innovations, which are taking place in several sectors across different regions to promote environmental sustainability. The study has analysed 152 articles on this research domain through a systematic literature review to understand the present state of existing knowledge. The current study examines the Scopus-indexed research articles from the time period 2002 to 2023. Six emerging themes have been examined to understand their development and the potential impact of green initiatives for environmental sustainability. Various institutional theories have been explored to understand their association with the investigated research area. The paper has discussed multiple challenges that need to be addressed for the speedy implementation of green innovations. Finally, future research questions have been proposed based on the findings from the extant literature and the existing research gaps.

Can green finance facilitate Industry 5.0 transition to achieve sustainability? A systematic review with future research directions.

Most of the world's rising carbon emission results from industrial activities. Previous industrial revolutions did not put much thought into safeguarding the natural world. Governments worldwide have been continuously implementing regulations and policies for the mitigation of climate change to promote sustainable development. To achieve decarbonization, the climate change discussion is merged with Industry 5.0 (I5.0) where green finance (GF) plays a crucial role. This technological metamorphosis of transition from Industry 4.0 (I4.0) to I5.0 will affect humans and their society. I5.0 forms a symbiotic relationship with different aspects of Society 5.0 (S5.0) such as social (human‒machine centricity), ecological (zero emissions), and technological (green innovations). Thus, the I5.0 transition prioritizes greening the economy in pursuit of achieving S5.0. Through a systematic review of 196 articles, this research study concisely summarizes the rapidly expanding body of information. The research domain gave six major themes: Green Innovations (GI), Green Manufacturing Practices (GMP), Circular Economy (CE), Green Supply Chain Management (GSCM), Emerging Economies, and Net Zero Economy (NZE). Finally, a framework has been provided that illustrates the supporting role of GF for the I5.0 transition eventually followed by S5.0. This study provides an overview of these themes with their propositions and future research directions. The present study addresses the knowledge gap by providing valuable contributions to the burgeoning research domain of I5.0 and GF. Moreover, it aims to garner the attention of different stakeholders to integrate these two concepts of research to attain the goal of sustainable development.

Do trade openness and institutional quality contribute to carbon emission reduction? Evidence from BRICS countries.

The quest for rapid economic development by modern nations has led to an unprecedented increase in carbon emissions. Knowledge spillovers from increasing trade activities and effective environmental regulations have been suggested as viable means of controlling these rising emissions. To that end, this study aims to examine the impact 'trade openness' and 'institutional quality' had on CO2 emissions in BRICS countries from 1991 to 2019. Three indices, namely, institutional quality, political stability, and political efficiency, are constructed to measure the overall institutional impact on emissions. A single indicator analysis is conducted for a deeper investigation of each index component. Given the existence of cross-sectional dependence among variables, the study uses the modern dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) method to estimate their long-run relationships. Confirming the pollution haven hypothesis, the findings reveal that 'trade openness' indeed is a cause of environmental degradation in the BRICS nations. Through reduced corruption, improved political stability, bureaucratic accountability, and better law and order, 'institutional quality' is found to be contributing positively to environmental sustainability. It is also confirmed that renewable energy sources do have a positive environmental impact; however, it is found to be insufficient to offset the adverse effects caused by non-renewable sources. Based on the results, it is advised that BRICS countries should strengthen their cooperation with developed countries so that positive spillovers of green technologies may occur. Moreover, renewable resources should be aligned with firms' profits so that sustainable production practices can become the new norm.

Environmental effects of ICT diffusion, energy consumption, financial development, and globalization: panel evidence from SAARC economies.

The rising energy demand for information and communication technology (ICT) devices has piqued the interest of scholars and policymakers. Given that ICT devices are ubiquitous, any attempt to mitigate climate change should address the carbon footprint of the ICT sector. The present study examines the direct impact of ICT on the environment and the indirect impact through interaction with energy consumption, financial development, and globalization in SAARC economies from 2000 to 2020. Using econometric approaches robust to cross-sectional dependence, such as the Driscoll-Kraay estimator and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test, the study found that ICT, renewable energy consumption, and globalization significantly reduce CO2 emission, whereas non-renewable energy consumption and financial development significantly increase emission. However, the interaction between financial development and ICT jointly reduces CO2 emissions. Similarly, renewable energy and globalization reduce emissions from increased ICT usage. The study also confirms the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for ICT diffusion. The causality test indicates bidirectional causality between ICT and CO2 emissions. Results suggest that SAARC economies can safely boost ICT and related applications to minimize emissions. They should also use renewable energy and green innovations in telecommunications to reduce their adverse environmental repercussions.

The role of ICT diffusion in sustainable human development: an empirical analysis from SAARC economies.

This study intends to examine the impact of ICT diffusion, globalization, financial development, government effectiveness, and economic growth on sustainable human development (SHD) (i.e., the development of human capital adjusted against the human ecological footprint) using 2005-2020 panel data of SAARC economies. The methodology involves econometric techniques robust to cross-sectional dependence (CSD), such as Pesaran CSD tests; second-generation unit root tests; Pedroni, Kao, and Westerlund cointegration tests; FMOLS, DCCE-MG, and Driscoll-Kraay (DK) regressions; and DH causality tests. The findings of the cointegration tests demonstrate that the variables are cointegrated and have a long-run equilibrium relationship. The results from the DCCE-MG and DK regressions indicate that ICT diffusion has a significant favorable impact on SHD. Similarly, globalization and economic growth also have a significant positive impact on SHD. On the other hand, the impact of government effectiveness and financial development was found to be insignificant. In addition, the DH causality test results show the presence of a unidirectional causality running from ICT diffusion to SHD and globalization to SHD. A bidirectional causal link is detected between economic growth and SHD. Therefore, the study concludes that in order to resolve the undesirable consequences of environmental degradation on human development in the globalized era, it is essential for SAARC economies to tackle the challenges of adequate ICT infrastructure: particularly, access and affordability. By eliminating these significant barriers to ICT access, CO2 emissions can be reduced, and human development can be sustained simultaneously.

The Environmental Philips Curve from a gender perspective: empirical evidence from India.

The trade-off between environmental degradation and unemployment has been recently termed as Environmental Philips Curve (EPC). This research attempts to investigate the presence of EPC in the Indian context utilizing time series data for the period 1990-2019. Besides contributing to the meagre empirical literature on this issue, the present study makes a novel contribution by introducing a gender dimension to this investigation. In particular, this study investigates whether the nexus between environmental degradation and unemployment is different for men and women. We examine the presence of the EPC by estimating a model that considers growth in CO2 emission as a function of economic growth, trade openness, and gender segregated unemployment rates. Our findings based on autoregressive distributed lag, fully modified ordinary least squares, and dynamic ordinary least squares estimators generate robust evidence for a negative impact of male unemployment rate on growth in CO2 emission that validates the existence of the Environmental Philips Curve for the male unemployment rate. However, there is no trade-off between environmental quality and women's employment. In fact, the results point to a favourable effect of reduction in female unemployment on environmental quality. The results of the Block Exogeneity test indicate a unidirectional causality from male unemployment rate to environmental degradation. However, a bidirectional causal relationship exists between female unemployment and environmental degradation. The existence of a trade-off between environmental quality and male employment suggests that India is yet to find viable technologies that can curtail pollution without compromising its livelihood. An optimistic conclusion emanating from our findings is the existence of a virtuous cycle between female employment and environmental quality. An integrated approach to improve environmental quality and increase women's economic activity may facilitate a speedy realization of sustainable development goals for India as both the goals complement and reinforce each other.

Do technological innovations and trade openness reduce CO2 emissions? Evidence from selected middle-income countries.

This paper examines the role of trade openness and innovation in reducing CO2 emissions in middle-income countries with the goal of improving environmental quality. The generalised method of moments (GMM) method is used to estimate the long-run association between variables and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test is used to examine causality for a panel of 23 middle-income countries from 1994 to 2018. The findings refute the existence of an inverted u-shape relationship between innovation and CO2 emissions. On the trade front, environmental deterioration is found to be relatively more severe in low middle-income countries than upper middle-income countries. Contrarily, the existence of the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis for both country groups is also supported by the data; however, the fall in the EKC curve is insignificant for low middle-income countries. Implying that the quest to control carbon emissions has just begun in low middle-income countries and they must target a higher level of green innovation to reduce the ever-rising CO2 emissions. It is also suggested to promote economic growth through knowledge spillovers and to establish a pollution level standard for trading and manufacturing sectors which generate the most contaminated waste.