Do drivers of renewable energy consumption matter for BRICS economies? Nexus among technological innovation, environmental degradation, economic growth, and income inequality.

In light of increasing concerns about climate change and energy security, renewable energy has been seen as the most promising solution to fulfil future energy needs. This study examines the drivers of renewable energy consumption (REC) and the nexus between GDP growth, technological innovation, gross fixed capital formation, CO2 emissions, income inequality, and renewable energy consumption (REC) using annual data from BRICS countries. To this end, the study uses the augmented mean group (AMG) estimator, a second-generation estimator that takes slope homogeneity and cross-sectional dependence into consideration. For robustness, the pooled mean group (PMG) estimator has also been utilized. The findings of both estimators indicate that carbon emissions, technological innovation, and gross fixed capital formation exert adverse and significant impacts on REC. The findings also show that the use of renewable energy will rise as income inequality declines. We also employ the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (DH) granger causality test. The results of the analysis demonstrate a one-way causal association between income inequality and REC. This finding confirms that a reduction in income inequality will have a major impact on the adoption of renewable energy sources.

Does green environmental innovation really matter for carbon-free economy? Nexus among green technological innovation, green international trade, and green power generation.

This study examines the association among the green energy production (GEP), green technological innovation (GTI), and green international trade (GIT) on the ecological footprints (EFP). In addition, this research applies fully modified least square (FMOLS) to estimate the empirical outcomes, while dynamic least square (DOLS) is used to check the robustness of the outcomes. Although, the selection of the assessment technique depends on the order of integration of the selected series. Before estimation, some diagnostic tests are also performed to ensure the reliability of the data set. Furthermore, the empirical outcomes of the present analysis are twofold: at begin, this research discovered a negative relationship between GEP and EFP. Secondly, this research reveals that GTI has also an adverse impact on EFP along with GIT, which is unsurprising. Results imply that advancement in green technological innovations tends to improve the EQ by reducing the level of EFP.