Impact of the circular economy on ecological footprint: evidence from Germany.

The circular economy practices contribute to sustainable development by maximising efficiency, utilising renewable resources, extending product lifespans, and implementing waste reduction strategies. This study investigates the individual impacts of four sources of the circular economy on the ecological footprint in Germany, a country that is among the pioneers in establishing a comprehensive roadmap for the circular economy. The four sources examined are renewable energy consumption (REC), recycling, reuse, and repair of materials. Using time series data from 1990 to 2021, the study employed the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) simulation technique and also applied kernel-based linear regression (KRLS) to test the robustness of the results. The findings revealed that reuse practices significantly reduce the ecological footprint in both the short and long run. REC and repair also substantially decrease the ecological footprint, as shown by the simulation analysis. Conversely, while recycling is generally considered crucial for minimising environmental impact, in this study, it was found to contribute to environmental degradation. This paradox may be attributed to the nascent state of the recycling industry and data limitations. The results from KRLS confirm the findings of the dynamic ARDL. It is recommended that policymakers develop measures that are appropriate, efficient, and targeted to enhance the role of each source of the circular economy in reducing the ecological footprint in Germany. The major limitation of the study is its reliance on the indirect measures of circular economy attributed to the non-availability of data on direct measures.

Unpacking the environmental quality through the effects of natural resources, renewable energy consumption, banking development and industrial value addition: An empirical evidence from BRICS countries.

This study explores the association between natural resources rent, industrial value addition, banking development, renewable energy consumption, total reserves and environmental quality in the dynamic context of BRICS nations from 1995 to 2019. BRICS economies are responsible for global greenhouse gas emissions and confront pressing environmental challenges, including biodiversity loss and pollution. For the dependent variable, the environmental quality, the study constructed a composite index using PCA for all environmental indicators where interdependencies among variables are prevalent. Besides this, the study incorporates two interaction terms to determine the indirect influence of natural resource rent and banking development on environmental quality through the mediating role of industrial value addition. By applying the CS-ARDL technique, the outcomes of the study reveal that natural resources rent, industrial value addition, and total reserves positively influence ENQ, indicating the adverse consequences of industrial sectors on environmental quality and continued environmental degradation due to resource-intensive industrial production, underscoring the urgency of sustainable resource management. In contrast, banking development and renewable energy consumption negatively influence ENQ, signifying the positive role of developed banking sectors in supporting eco-friendly projects and enhancing environmental quality. This study offers valuable insights for policy interventions to foster a more sustainable future.

Towards sustainable environment in North African countries: The role of military expenditure, renewable energy, tourism, manufacture, and globalization on environmental degradation.

Climate change resulting from increasing emissions has become a pressing concern in North African countries due to its significant environmental and socio-economic impacts. There is a need for extensive research on this topic to raise global awareness of the associated dangers. This study investigates the dynamic impact of economic growth, military expenditure, globalization, renewable energy, manufacturing, tourism, capital formation, and labor on CO2 emissions in North African countries from 1995 to 2021. The long-term results of the ARDL model reveal that globalization, renewable energy and capital formation have a negative impact on CO2 emissions, whereas economic growth, manufacturing, and tourism exhibit a positive impact. Pairwise Granger causality evidence indicates unidirectional causality from economic growth, globalization, military expenditure, manufacturing, tourism, and capital formation to CO2 emissions. These findings provide policymakers with critical insights to shape evidence-based interventions that promote renewable energy investments and globalization, enhance capital formation and high-skilled labor, and implement regulations to mitigate the environmental impacts of economic growth, military expenditure, manufacturing, and tourism. This guidance will help the region transition to a more environmentally friendly economic system.

Achieving climate sustainability in the Republic of Congo: The role of economic growth, biomass energy consumption, rule of law and government effectiveness- a NARDL Approach.

This study explores the relationship between economic growth (GDP), biomass energy consumption (BEC), Rule of Law, and Government Effectiveness on climate change (CO2 emissions) in the Republic of Congo from 1990 to 2020. We employed a nonlinear autoregressive distributed Lag (NARDL) model to analyse data from World Bank databases. Higher GDP leads to lower CO2 emissions in the long run. Increased BEC also reduces emissions, but a decrease can have a small negative impact. Interestingly, a stronger Rule of Law and Government Effectiveness is associated with higher CO2 emissions in the short run, potentially due to relaxed environmental regulations. However, a stronger Rule of Law and Government Effectiveness leads to lower emissions in the long run, suggesting a potential shift towards sustainable practices. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to achieve economic growth and climate stability in the Republic of Congo.

Does gambling expenditure have any effect on crime?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Australians spend more per capita on gambling than any other country in the world. Electronic gaming machines (EGM) expenditure accounts for almost 90% of this expenditure. No study to date has conducted a rigorous longitudinal analysis of the relationship between gambling expenditure and crime. This study aimed to estimate the short- and long-run relationship between gambling expenditure and crime. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis using panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) modelling. SETTING AND CASES: Recorded property and violent crimes committed in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, between 28 December 2015 and 5 January 2020. MEASUREMENTS: Monthly gross EGM expenditure profit, broken down by Local Government Area (LGA). Monthly recorded rates of assault, break enter and steal (dwelling), break enter and steal (non-dwelling), break enter and steal (total), motor vehicle theft, stealing from a motor vehicle, stealing from a retail store, stealing from the person, stealing (total) and fraud. FINDINGS: Each 10% increase in gambling expenditure in NSW is associated with annual: 7.4% increase in assaults, 10.5% increase in break and enter (dwelling) offences; 10.3% increase in break and enter (non-dwelling) offences; 11% increase in motor vehicle theft offences; 8.2% increase in stealing from motor vehicle offences; and 7.4% increase in fraud offences. CONCLUSION: Electronic gaming expenditure appears to be positively associated with property and violent crime in New South Wales, Australia.

Effects of urbanization and international trade on economic growth, productivity, and employment: Case of selected countries in Africa.

The rapid urbanization taking place in Africa is resulting in the emergence of large urban agglomerations. Despite the potential and typical economic benefits associated with the emergence of such agglomerations elsewhere, not much can be said of Africa's urbanization. With urbanization projections pointing to a continued increase, there is a need to understand the urbanization and economic dynamics relationship in order to exploit the full potential of this wave. Using a panel data set of urbanization rate, trade, economic growth, productivity and employment in six African countries for the period 1991-2019, we explore this relationship by adopting the cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) approach using data from six African countries. The findings show that there is a significant relationship between urbanization, international trade, economic growth, productivity, and employment. they also show a causal relationship between the variables studied. In addition, the findings of this study reveal that international trade contributes, significantly, to improving the productivity in long run and the economic growth and employment increase the productivity in short run and employment in the selected African countries. This research study, therefore, contributes to the critical argument that African urbanization and international trade have significant economic potential and therefore need to be encouraged and managed effectively. This provides evidence for planners and policy-makers to back policy geared toward sustainable urbanization and diversified international trade that will contribute to the structural transformation of African countries.

Repercussions of Pakistan's renewable and non-renewable energies to the environmental footprint: Applying the non-linear ARDL estimation.

The energy consumption in Pakistan, both renewable and nonrenewable, is examined herein as an important factor in carbon emissions. Employing a nonlinear ARDL (auto-regressive distributed lag), the research examines data from 1980 to 2021. The results show that the use of renewable energy has a negligible effect when it comes to the nation's overall carbon emissions. This is mainly because the key pollutants in Pakistan's energy sector come from nonrenewable sources, such as coal and natural gas. However, the report observes that the carbon emissions within the nonrenewable energy sector are directly related to economic growth. A further theorem of the nonlinear analysis has brought the limited role of renewable energy in resolving environmental problems into sharper focus, perhaps due to its lower proportion of Pakistan's total energy mix. According to the study, improving the proportion of renewable energy is the only way to combat environmental problems.

Statistical investigation on the relationship between climate change, food availability, agricultural productivity, and economic expansion.

This study examined the connections between Benin's economic expansion, food production, agricultural productivity, and climate change. Using yearly statistics between 1961 and 2021, and R software version 4.2.2, we aim to: (1) Analyze how agricultural added value affects economic expansion; (2) analyze the effects of food production and temperature lagged values on economic growth; (3) investigate the different causality relationships between food production, temperature variation, agricultural added value and economic growth. To achieve these goals, statistical and econometric techniques such as Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) and the Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality framework were employed. The ARDL model verifies that there is a positive correlation between economic growth and the added value of agriculture based on empirical data. In addition, the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model highlights the favorable impact of lagged food production values and the adverse effect of temperature fluctuations on economic growth. Granger causality analysis, employing the Toda-Yamamoto approach, unveils unidirectional links between food production and economic growth, as well as between temperature variation and agricultural added value. Interestingly, the study comes to the conclusion that there are no direct causal links between economic expansion and agricultural growth or between economic growth and temperature variance. Notably, bidirectional causality is established between livestock production and both economic growth and agricultural added value. These insights have significant implications for understanding climate change impacts on agriculture and suggest the need for adapted strategies to mitigate climate effects. Future research could focus on evaluating existing policies, exploring social and economic impacts, investigating market dynamics, and utilizing integrated assessment modeling to inform decision-making and foster sustainable economic growth in Benin's agricultural sector.

Exchange rate volatility and COVID-19 effects on Indonesia's food products' trade: Symmetric and asymmetric approach.

This study aims to determine the symmetric and asymmetric effects of exchange rate volatility and other explanatory variables (real exchange rate, industrial production index, and COVID-19) on sixteen (16) food products traded between Indonesia and the United States, Indonesia and China. The study used the ARCH/GARCH approach and estimate the volatility of the exchange rate. Linear and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) were applied to estimate the short- and long-run effect for the period 2009:M1-2020:M12. Findings from the ARDL method indicate that, in the short-term exchange rate volatility has a significant positive/negative effect on many products exported and imported throughout the study period. Different results were found in the Nonlinear ARDL method where a significant effect occurred especially on the food products import. The result further indicates that exchange rate volatility has a more negative effect symmetrically or asymmetrically. These results imply that most Indonesian traders to the United States and China tend to behave as risk-averse in the long run when responding to the phenomenon of exchange rate volatility. As a measure of robustness, a quantile regression further confirms that exchange rate volatility consistently affects food product trade. With this, therefore, stable exchange rate policies are needed to lessen the harmful effect of volatility on trade flows and balance the risk-taking behaviour among importers and exporters.

Assessing the environmental impacts of clean energy investment in Pakistan using a dynamic autoregressive distributed lag model.

In this study, the authors projected the impacts of clean energy investment on environmental degradation by applying a novel and dynamic Autoregressive Distributed Lag (DARDL) model for Pakistan from 1990 to 2022. Most researchers have used ecological footprint or CO2 emissions indicators to look at how clean energy investment affects environmental degradation, which primarily represents contamination induced by humans' consumption patterns and does not consider the impact of the supply side. Against this background, the study scrutinized the dynamic interaction between clean energy investment and environmental sustainability using the load capacity factor (LCF) as an ecological indicator in Pakistan, including economic growth, population density, trade openness, urbanization, and industrialization in the analysis. The long-run estimates from DARDL indicate that a 1 percent upsurge in clean energy investment mitigates environmental degradation by approximately 0.42 percent on average, controlling for other factors. Further, the study also revealed that a 1 percent increase in clean energy investment diminishes dirty energy consumption by approximately 0.45 percent. The validity of the findings is confirmed using alternate methods, i.e., KRLS. The study recommends that Pakistan prioritize investment in clean energy projects to promote environmental sustainability and enforce environmental regulations to reduce the adverse externalities associated with dirty energy activities.

Examining public private partnership investment in energy towards achieving sustainable development goal 7 for ASEAN region.

The gradual progress in aligning financial flows with the adoption of clean technologies reveals a persistent funding gap, signaling a global misallocation of capital. Addressing this challenge necessitates political leadership and robust policies to counteract the insecurities impeding the redirection of financial flows. This study investigates into the impact of energy-related public-private partnership investments (PPPIE) and macro-environmental variables on the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) across Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries from 1999 to 2021. Employing the Dynamac command technique, we conduct autoregressive distribution lag analysis and the Bounds Cointegration Test to evaluate ASEAN's efforts in achieving SDG7. Results indicate that a ten-year exogenous shock to the GDP growth rate initially causes a temporary decline in both GDP and PPPIE, albeit not statistically significant. However, in the long run, the shock becomes statistically significant, correlating with a negative decline in the GDP growth rate. This underscores the negative impact of external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic on the economic growth of ASEAN member countries. Specifically, a percentage increase in PPPIE leads to an 8.3% reduction in the GDP growth rate, revealing a detrimental and unsustainable impact on the economy. This signifies that energy investments in the ASEAN region, are predominantly unsustainable and adversely impact economic growth. Moreover, these energy investments contribute to a significant 52.6% increase in greenhouse gas emissions, indicating a substantial setback in the region's progress towards meeting SDG7's clean energy objectives by 2030. This suggests the present state of PPPIE does not align with sustainable clean energy goals of the region. Therefore, recommendations should include diversifying energy sources and investment strategies to enhance sustainable clean energy. Also, policymakers and researchers should reassess the terms and conditions of PPPIE, refining frameworks for private sector involvement to align with long-term economic sustainability goals.

The influence of climate change on the sesame yield in North Gondar, North Ethiopia: Application Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) time series model.

Sesame is a major annual oil crop that is grown practically everywhere in tropical and subtropical Asia, as well as Africa, for its very nutritious and tasty seeds. Rising temperatures, droughts, floods, desertification, and weather all have a significant impact on agricultural production, particularly in developing countries like Ethiopia. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine the influence of climate change on the sesame yield in North Gondar, North Ethiopia, by using the autoregressive distributed Lag (ARDL) time series model. This study employed climate data from the Bahirdar Agrometeorological Center and secondary data on sesame production from the Ethiopian Statistical Service, spanning 36 years, from 1987 to 2023. Autoregressive Distributed LAG (ARDL) includes diagnostic tests for both short- and long-term autoregressive models. The results for the long-run and short-run elastic coefficients show a significant positive association between temperatures and sesame yield. Sesame yield and rainfall have a significant negative long-run and short-run relationship in North Gondar, North Ethiopia. ARDL results confirm that temperature and rainfall have significant effects on sesame productivity. Temperature had a considerable favorable effect on sesamen production, but rainfall had a negative effect in North Gondar, Ethiopia. Based on the evidence acquired from our study, we made several policy recommendations and suggestions to government officials, policymakers, new technologies, researchers, policy development planners, and other stakeholders in order to develop or implement new technology to halt its production and direct adaptation measures in light of the certainty of global warming and the characteristics of climate-dependent agricultural production.

The asymmetric effect of global value chain on environmental quality: Implications for environmental management.

This study examines the dynamic relationship between global value chain integration, and carbon emissions, in 57 developing economies from 2000 to 2018. Our results show a multipart link between GVC involvement and carbon emissions. Specifically, forward participation, which involves domestic content in foreign exports, offers the potential to reduce emissions, whereas backward participation, defined by foreign content in domestic exports, typically increases emissions. This imbalance draws attention to the dual nature of using mineral resources, which can contribute to and mitigate environmental damage depending on the extent of GVC engagement. The NARDL model employed in the study also reveals the dynamic and nonlinear responses of carbon emissions to variations in the utilization of mineral resources within GVCs. Our findings show that positive shocks to mineral resources use within GVCs negatively influence carbon emissions, while adverse shocks have less impact. The results have significant policy implications, indicating that developing nations should prioritize environmental sustainability while planning their GVC participation. This entails promoting value-added mining resource use initiatives and pushing for strict environmental regulations in GVCs. Our results also highlight the significance of implementing customized measures to mitigate economic activity's asymmetric and nonlinear impacts on environmental quality. It enlightens policymakers in developing nations on balancing environmental conservation and economic growth in a global economy that is becoming more interconnected.

Do circular economy, renewable energy, industrialization, and globalization influence environmental indicators in belt and road initiative countries?

This paper is the first comprehensive research to examine the effect of circular economy on environment employing two environmental degradation indicators (CO2 emissions, ecological footprint) and one environmental quality indicator (load capacity factor) for 57 Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries during 2000-2019. The effect of other variables such as renewable energy, industrialization, and globalization was also controlled. The study applied the cross-sectional autoregressive distributed lag method (CS-ARDL), the augmented mean group (AMG), and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) methods as a robustness checks. The empirical findings reveal that circular economy and renewable energy have pro-environmental effects by decreasing carbon emissions and ecological footprint and increasing the load capacity factor in BRI countries. However, industrialization and globalization have detrimental effects on the environment. The result of causality shows a bidirectional causality between renewable energy, circular economy, industrialization, and three environmental indicators, but the relationship of globalization with CO2 emissions and the load capacity factor is unidirectional and with the ecological footprint is bidirectional. All the results are confirmed by the robustness tests. The study suggests policy implications for the BRI government.

Cement production and CO2 emission cycles in the USA: evidence from MS-ARDL and MS-VARDL causality methods with century-long data.

The cement industry is among the top three polluters among all industries and the examination of the nonlinear and cointegration dynamics between cement production and CO2 emissions has not been explored. Focusing on this research gap, the study employs a novel Markov-switching autoregressive distributed lag (MS-ARDL) model and its generalization to vector error correction, the MS-VARDL model, for regime-dependent causality testing. The new method allows the determination of nonlinear long-run and short-run relations, regime duration, and cement-induced-CO2 emission cycles in the USA for a historically long dataset covering 1900-2021. Empirical findings point to nonlinearity in all series and nonlinear cointegration between cement production and cement-induced CO2 emissions. The phases of regimes coincide closely with NBER's official economic cycles for the USA. The second regime, characterized by expansions, lasts twice as long relative to the first, the contractionary regime, which contains severe economic recessions, as well as economic crises, the 1929 Great Depression, the 1973 Oil Crisis, the 2009 Great Recession, and the COVID-19 Shutdown and Wars, including WWI and II. In both regimes, the adverse effects of cement production on CO2 emissions cannot be rejected with varying degrees both in the long and the short run. Markov regime-switching vector autoregressive distributed lag (MS-VARDL) causality tests confirm unidirectional causality from cement production to CO2 emissions in both regimes. The traditional Granger causality test produces an over-acceptance of causality in a discussed set of cases. Industry-level policy recommendations include investments to help with the shift to green kiln technologies and energy efficiency. National-level policies on renewable energy and carbon capture are also vital considering the energy consumption of cement production.

The crucial roles of ICT, renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality in achieving environmental sustainability in BRICS.

The BRICS countries-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-are committed to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13, which focuses on mitigating climate change. To attain this goal, it is crucial to emphasize the significance of ICT, renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality. This study contributes to the literature by examining the potential role of these factors in environmental sustainability in the BRICS economies from 2000 to 2021, utilizing cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) estimation and other novel econometric techniques. Accordingly, the study suggests that BRICS governments and policymakers prioritize the use of ICT in the industrial and institutional sectors to achieve faster environmental sustainability in the short-run, as per the CS-ARDL results. However, the study advises caution in the long-term as the interaction between ICT and renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality may not favour environmental quality. Although the renewable energy sources interaction with ICT may not yield immediate progress, strong measures need to be taken to ensure that short-term gains are not nullified. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential of ICT, renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality in achieving environmental sustainability in the BRICS countries, while recommending cautious measures in the long run to safeguard the progress made.

Unlocking the path to environmental sustainability: navigating economic policy uncertainty, ICT, and environmental taxes for a sustainable future.

The study aims to gauge the impact of economic policy uncertainty, ICT, and environmental tax on environmental sustainability, which is measured by carbon emission and ecological footprint in a panel of 22 nations from 1997 to 2021. The present study has implemented the advanced panel data estimation techniques, including continuously updated fully modified (CUP-FM) and continuously updated bias-corrected (CUP-BC), dynamic seemingly unrelated regressions (DSUR), and nonlinear autoregressive distributed lagged (NARDL) in documenting the elasticities of target variables. Moreover, the directional causality has been tested through the D-H causality test. Study findings documented a positive and statistically significant linkage between EPU and environmental degradation. That is, EPU amplifies the emission of CO2 and ecological instability. The effects of ET and ICT are positively associated with environmental sustainability; that is, ET and ICT control the emission of CO2 and bring ecological improvement. This study contributes to the existing body of literature by conducting a thorough analysis of the relationship between various factors and their impact on environmental degradation. The study emphasizes the significance of every factor in influencing environmental outcomes. It provides policy suggestions to reduce CO2 emissions and promote ecological sustainability. The findings add valuable insights to the ongoing conversation about how to tackle environmental challenges in our constantly evolving world.

The role of green finance and governance effectiveness in the impact of renewable energy investment on CO2 emissions in BRICS economies.

In the context of sustainable development, this study investigates the intricate dynamics among good governance, renewable energy investment, and green finance in BRICS nations. The aim of the study is to assess how green finance and governance effectiveness moderate the impact of renewable energy investment on CO2 emissions. Utilizing the Cross-Sectional Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model, a meticulous analysis spanning two decades was conducted to unravel the relationships among key variables and CO2 emissions. The findings underscore a nuanced interplay where renewable energy investments, synergized with robust governance and strategic green finance, significantly mitigate CO2 emissions, contributing to sustainable economic development. However, the study reveals non-linear relationships, highlighting the necessity for optimal allocation and strategic planning to maximize environmental benefits. In the short-run, a government effectiveness policy threshold that should be attained in order for renewable energy investment to reduce CO2 emissions is provided. In the long-run, the negative responsiveness of CO2 emissions to renewable energy investment is further consolidated by green finance. Moreover, enhancing renewable energy investment in the long run is positive for environmental sustainability. It follows that policy makers should tailor policies aimed at enhancing renewable energy investment in the long-run as well as complementing renewable energy investment with green finance in the long-run in order to ensure environmental sustainability by means of reducing CO2 emissions. Policymakers in BRICS nations are urged to strengthen governance structures, promote renewable energy investments, leverage green finance, foster public-private partnerships, adopt a holistic approach, and address non-linear effects to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Exploring the role of spending on malaria incidence in Uganda using the auto-regressive distributed lag approach.

BACKGROUND: Malaria has remained a persistent global health problem. Despite multiple government and donor initiatives to eradicate malaria and its detrimental effects on Uganda's health outcomes, the incidence of malaria is worrying as it appears higher than the average of 219 cases per 1000 for sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2017-2018. This study investigated the effect of public and private healthcare spending on the incidence of malaria in Uganda. METHODS: Employing time series data spanning over 20 years from the first quarter of 2000 to the last quarter of 2019, the study builds a model based on the Grossman framework for analysing demand for health. The estimation technique used was the ARDL approach that takes into account reverse causality and incidental relationships. Prior to the adoption of the technique, a bounds test was performed to determine whether the variables contained in the model have a long-term relationship. Several diagnostic tests for serial correlation, functional normality, and heteroskedastic specification error were carried out to verify the ARDL model's goodness of fit. Additionally, the cumulative sum of recursive (CUSUM) and cumulative sum of squares of recursive residuals (CUSUMSQ) were used to test model stability. RESULTS: The results indicate that in the long run, an increase in public spending of one percent significantly reduces malaria incidence by 0.196 at the 10 percent level of significance. On the other hand, there is no significant evidence of private health expenditure's effect on malaria incidence. However, in the short run, public spending reduces malaria incidence by a smaller magnitude of 0.158 percent relative to the long-run. Still, private expenditure is found to exhibit no significant effect. Additional findings point to the importance of GDP per capita and urban population growth in reducing malaria incidence, whereas female unemployment, income inequality, as well as female-headed household. In the short run, however, the female-headed households and urban population growth are found to significantly reduce malaria incidence while an improvement in regulatory quality decreases malaria incidence by 0.129 percent. CONCLUSIONS: There is need for further government interventions to reduce malaria incidence in the country via budget allocation, as well as the strengthening of programmes to raise household income to support private health spending, in addition to the development of strategies to promote well-planned and organized urban centres.

Financial health and economic growth responsiveness as solution to environmental degradation in Pakistan.

This study analyses the impact of GDP per capita, domestic credit, savings, and population on the environment in Pakistan from 1995 to 2019. The country has consistently been ranked eighth, fifth, and eight as an environmentally vulnerable nation from 1998 to 2017, 1999 to 2018, and 2000 to 2019, respectively. Therefore, the study explores the role of environmental awareness as a potential strategy for making peace with nature. Findings of the ARDL bounds testing approach confirm the long-run cointegration among variables of concern. In further assessment, the study determines that increased per capita income is detrimental to environmental quality in the long run. However, in the short run, it shows a favourable impact. On the other hand, domestic credit worsens the environment in the long and short runs. However, savings are positively insignificant in this regard. Furthermore, the total population significantly harms the environment in the long and short run. Fortunately, environmental awareness has emerged as a key solution to environmental degradation in Pakistan. Findings show that an increase in the dissemination of environmental awareness through the Internet, mobile, and landline phones, as well as by increasing education expenditures, mitigates the populations' detrimental impact on the environment and improves environmental quality in the long run.