Modeling the ecological footprint and assessing its influential factors: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Various factors have been found responsible for the increment in ecological footprint resulting difficulties in maintaining environmental sustainability. This has been noticed through a modeling perspective. Identifying the factors affecting Ecological Footprint helps policymakers to formulate policies regarding sustainability. However, studies conducted based upon systematic reviews on Ecological Footprint through modeling are still limited. OBJECTIVE: This study intends to identify influential factors associated with ecological footprint through a systematic review. METHODS: ProQuest, Science Direct, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were used to search literature systematically. Particular keywords and Boolean operators were applied to dig out relevant studies for the review. Peer-reviewed research articles published in the English language till September 13, 2023, were incorporated for the analysis. Following the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA), 1011 articles were identified from four different databases and only 37 research papers were eligible for this study. These articles were assessed and relevant information was extracted and then amalgamated into the systematic review. RESULTS: Gross domestic product, urbanization, energy consumption, renewable energy, non-renewable energy, natural resources, bio-capacity, human capital, foreign direct investment, trade openness, and financial development were observed as key factors of the ecological footprint. CONCLUSION: Factors known to influence ecological footprint need to be addressed properly for environmental sustainability including widespread use of renewable energy.

Coping with the tale of natural resources and environmental inequality: an application of the machine learning tools.

With the rising momentum according to the environmentalist voices seeking climate justice for more equity and the importance of encouraging environmental justice mechanisms and tools, in this perspective, the objective of this study is to analyze in depth the substantial role of natural resources abundance in the environmental inequality issue. For this purpose, this study adopted the eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), LightGBM, Natural Gradient Boosting (NGBoost), Hybrid hybrid upper confidence bound-long short-term memory-Genetic Algorithm (UCB-LSTM-GA), and the Shapley Additive Explanation (SAE) machine learning algorithms in the context of 21 emerging economies spanning the years 2001 to 2019. The empirical results reveal that natural resource abundance, foreign trade, and foreign direct investment inflows contribute all to higher levels of environmental inequality. However, higher levels of per capita income, gross fixed capital formation, and institutional quality contribute to lower levels of environmental inequality. Addressing climate justice holistically through an integrated supranational vision is significant since every step taken toward eradicating environmental racism matters.

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.

Are natural resources a curse, a blessing, or a double-edged sword? Implications for environmental sustainability.

Natural resources have a significant impact on economic and political landscapes of developing countries which determines environmental sustainability. This study explores the convoluted connection between governance and natural resources, examining how resource abundance might influence governance quality. The main components of this dynamic that the theoretical framework considers are the Rentier effects, the repression effects, and the obstruction of modernization. This study creates a governance index applying principal component analysis (PCA) on several governance characteristics, such as political stability, rule of law, government efficacy, regulation and control of corruption, to measure governance comprehensively. Natural resource exports, rents, and the differentiation between renewable and non-renewable natural resources are the three proxies used to quantify natural resources, providing a more nuanced view. To calculate the effect of renewable and non-renewable natural resources on governance in developing nations, the econometric methodology uses a dynamic panel model and system GMM. This analysis reveals that the ability of renewable resources to promote inclusive development has a favourable impact on governance. On the other hand, non-renewable resources show a negative correlation, mainly because of their vulnerability to swings in the world price and their propensity to consolidate power and promote corruption. The significance of differentiating between natural resource types is highlighted in this study, along with the possible advantages of renewable resources for governance and the disadvantages of an over-reliance on non-renewable resources. Policymakers, researchers, and practitioners interested in the development and governance difficulties encountered by resource-rich developing nations can benefit greatly from this research's larger and more complex understanding of the link between natural resources and governance.

Environmental deterioration, renewable energy, natural resource rents, and schooling in Türkiye: Does the degree of energy transition matter for environmental quality?

Within the literature on energy and environmental economics, it is generally acknowledged that renewable energy can improve environmental quality; however, certain papers suggest that an optimal level of the usage of renewable energy sources may exist. Consequently, the utilization of renewable energy sources can result in environmental degradation up to a certain threshold. Then, environmental quality can be enhanced through the continued application of renewables. This indicates that the link between renewable energy and environmental devastation is inverted U-shaped. This paper presents empirical evidence concerning this possible association between renewable energy and environmental destruction in Türkiye, a country where fossil energy predominates in the energy mix. Additionally, the paper investigates the environmental influences of natural resource rents and schooling. This study utilizes annual data from 1971 to 2020 and implements time series methodologies that rely on the Fourier approximation. The paper thus accounts for an undetermined quantity of structural breaks. The results suggest that an inverted U-shaped link occurs between renewable energy and environmental destruction, signifying renewable energy initially contributes to a diminution in environmental quality before subsequently improving it. Additionally, environmental quality is positively associated with natural resource rents and negatively associated with schooling, according to the findings. Furthermore, the findings reveal that schooling worsens the combined effect of renewable energy on environmental degradation. These conclusions are discussed in the paper.

From bits to green: Unraveling the digital economy's influence on natural resource efficiency.

This study explores the impact of the digital economy (DE) on natural resource efficiency (NRE) across 275 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2021. Through a comprehensive empirical analysis, we find that the DE significantly positively affects NRE. A key moderating factor in this relationship is green technological innovation (GTI), focusing on the quality rather than the quantity of green technology. Our study also uncovers regional variations of moderating effect. Additionally, we identify several mechanisms through which the DE contributes to enhanced NRE, including the transformation of industrial structure and improvements in green total factor productivity. A detailed heterogeneity analysis shows that the DE's impact on NRE varies according to city-specific factors such as natural resource endowment, city size, environmental regulations, and administrative levels. These findings provide a more nuanced understanding of how the DE influences NRE at the urban level, contributing to the broader discourse on sustainable development in the digital age. Our research offers policy recommendations and potential pathways for cities to leverage the DE for greater natural resource efficiency.

Illuminating sustainable household well-being and natural resource dependence in the case of disaster resettlement in rural China.

In order to transform rural development, the implementation of disaster resettlement projects should not only reduce environmental hazards, but also improve the sustainability of natural resources and household well-being. This article assesses sustainable household well-being (SHWB) and natural resource dependence using a quantitative survey of rural China. It identifies four classes of relationship between SHWB and natural resource dependence and explores the impact of disaster resettlement on these classes. The result shows that rural households that participate in disaster resettlement as well as in voluntary relocation, centralized relocation, and new-stage relocation are more likely to achieve "high well-being and low dependence." However, the overall SHWB level of the relocated households is lower than that of the non-relocated households, and disaster resettlement also has a significant positive impact on the "low well-being and low dependence" class. It is recommended that governments implement measures to address these issues. The findings in this article could shed light on the impact of resettlement programs on rural households elsewhere.

Does natural resource dependence restrict green development? An investigation from the "Belt and road" countries.

Addressing natural resource dependence is integral to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and climate resilience. This study explores the effect of natural resource dependence on green development by adopting the balanced panel dataset from the "Belt and Road" countries from 2005 to 2019. Notably, the novelty of our analysis lies in the empirical analysis using instrument-based techniques that consolidate the "green development curse hypothesis" in the Belt and Road countries. The mechanism analysis reveals that natural resource dependence curbs green development by weakening innovative capability, disturbing institutional quality, reducing population density, and crowding out human capital. Further, the dynamic panel threshold model handling endogeneity verifies the nonlinear relationship between natural resource dependence and green development. Interestingly, digital trade offers greater "resilience" than traditional trade, correcting the resource curse dilemma. Finally, heterogeneity analyses indicate that the green development curse hypothesis only exists in countries with high-level environmental regulations and resource-based countries.

Natural resources-environmental technology-ecological footprint nexus: Does natural resources rents diversification make a difference?

Researchers have shown a growing interest in investigating the environmental consequences of energy exploitation and green technologies, particularly in light of the escalating severity of climate change issues in recent times. However, these researches remain incomplete in terms of the various elements and mechanisms of impact. By assessing the novel facet of resource diversification, this study has assessed the direct and indirect effects of this feature on environmental quality. This study used the Moment quantile Regression technique to examine data from 31 OECD nations spanning the time frame of 2009-2019. The findings indicate that resource diversification has an adverse effect on environmental quality, however this effect is not homogeneously observed across all countries. Countries with favorable environmental conditions will encounter a more pronounced influence from the diversification of natural resources extraction. This study further demonstrates that expanding the variety of natural resource exploitation will amplify the negative effects of resource exploitation on environmental quality. Furthermore, the degree of environmental technology exerts a beneficial impact on environmental quality across various degrees of environmental quality. Our findings offer several insightful policies for natural resources management in the context of the ongoing industrial revolution.

Evaluating the effects of ECON-ESG on load capacity factor in G7 countries.

For the first time, this study introduces the ECON-ESG quadruple, developed by Isik et al. (2024a), by adding the economy (ECON) dimension to the classical ESG (environment, social, governance) triad. Based on this new concept, it explores the impact of ECON-ESG factors on the Load Capacity Factor (LCF) in G7. The impact of ECON-ESG factors on LCF is vital because sustainability through these factors plays a critical role in a sustainable environment with LCF. CS-ARDL model finds that while governance factors (GOVNF) positively affect LCF, economic factors (ECONF) have negative effects. Environmental factors (ENVF) and social factors (SOCF) do not affect LCF. These findings can be interpreted as follows: (i) Negative effects of ECONF on LCF can be interpreted as high productivity levels in G7 leading to high resource consumption, exceeding biocapacity. (ii) In G7 with high-income levels, increased consumption may lead to overconsumption of natural resources and exceeding biocapacity. (iii) High technological progress in G7 can sometimes paradoxically lead to greater resource consumption rather than encouraging more efficient resource use, increasing an ecological footprint. The positive effects of GOVNF on LCF can be interpreted as follows: (iv) High and quality governance practices and policies in G7 can increase biocapacity. (vi) Under good governance, governments and environmental organizations can positively impact LCF by raising public awareness of environmental issues and enabling society to use natural resources more sustainably. Therefore, policymakers should harmonize economic policies through ECONF and governance policies through social factors (GOVNF), which contradict each other in LCF. Additionally, the effect of the single composite form ECON-ESG introduced and proposed in this study on LCF is found to be negative. This requires policymakers and firms to re-evaluate their sustainability one more time from a holistic perspective, including economic factors, as done in this study.

Government infrastructure investment stimulation through booming natural resources: Evidence from a lower-middle-income country.

The dynamics of central government funding to regions depend on local investments. In regional autonomy, local governments are encouraged to be more self-reliant from the central government. For regions with high natural resource yields, they will not encounter difficulties in meeting their fiscal needs. Community welfare can be realized through fulfilling basic needs, one of which is infrastructure development. High-quality infrastructure will be able to contribute to further progress in trade, thus enhancing production efficiency. The objective of this research is to analyze the extent of the influence of central government transfer funds, especially the Natural Resource Revenue Sharing Funds (DBH SDA), on local government investments in infrastructure across 508 districts/cities in Indonesia. The method used is dynamic panel regression using the Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) Arellano-Bond approach. This study finds that the role of DBH SDA is still low in infrastructure spending. The role of the central government remains significant in determining infrastructure spending at the district/city level in Indonesia. This indicates that local governments rely more on other sectors in infrastructure investment. By enhancing the role of DBH SDA through technological advancements, it is hoped that the market value of natural resources can be higher through resource downstreaming. This strategy will have broader impacts, as labor needs can be absorbed not only in raw material production activities but also in the processing technology sector. Furthermore, the utilization of natural resources with modern technology can increase extraction efficiency, support sustainable development, and minimize environmental impacts.

Fostering inclusive green growth in China: Identifying the impact of the regional integration strategy of Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Inclusive green growth has garnered significant attention from governments and international organizations worldwide. Utilizing data from 282 cities in China spanning from 2010 to 2020, this study employs the dual machine learning model and the chain mediated effect model to delve into the effects and internal mechanisms of the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt on inclusive green growth. Our findings indicate that the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt has a substantial influence on inclusive green growth, particularly in cities with a higher degree of marketization, non-industrial cities, and cities lacking natural resource advantages. Mechanistic analysis reveals that the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt exerts its influence on inclusive green growth through three parallel development paths including enhancing urban innovation levels, fostering mass entrepreneurship, and promoting the advancement of digital financial inclusion. Furthermore, the chain mediated effect is supported. Additionally, the spatial spillover effect of target policy is observed. These findings offer empirical evidence regarding the impact of the regional integration of Yangtze River Economic Belt on inclusive green growth, and provide valuable insights for optimizing and enhancing inclusive green growth strategies in China and other emerging economies.

Natural capital approaches for the optimal design of policies for nature recovery.

By embedding a spatially explicit ecosystem services modelling tool within a policy simulator we examine the insights that natural capital analysis can bring to the design of policies for nature recovery. Our study is illustrated through a case example of policies incentivising the establishment of new natural habitat in England. We find that a policy mirroring the current practice of offering payments per hectare of habitat creation fails to break even, delivering less value in improved flows of ecosystem services than public money spent and only 26% of that which is theoretically achievable. Using optimization methods, we discover that progressively more efficient outcomes are delivered by policies that optimally price activities (34%), quantities of environmental change (55%) and ecosystem service value flows (81%). Further, we show that additionally attaining targets for unmonetized ecosystem services (in our case, biodiversity) demands trade-offs in delivery of monetized services. For some policy instruments it is not even possible to achieve the targets. Finally, we establish that extending policy instruments to offer payments for unmonetized services delivers target-achieving and value-maximizing policy designs. Our findings reveal that policy design is of first-order importance in determining the efficiency and efficacy of programmes pursuing nature recovery. This article is part of the theme issue 'Bringing nature into decision-making'.

Ecotourism or ecological concerns? Tracing the impact of economic policy uncertainty and natural resources on tourism-driven ecological footprints.

The influence of tourism development and economic policy uncertainties on environmental sustainability is substantial. Promoting responsible tourism and using sustainable tourism practises, like offering eco-friendly lodging, is a key part of protecting natural habitats and lowering carbon footprints. Hence, this study tries to examine the relationship between tourism development, economic policy uncertainty, renewable energy, and natural resources on the ecological footprint of India during 1990-2022. This study applies a novel dynamic ARDL simulation approach for long-run and short-run analyses. The study also employs frequency-domain causality to check the causal relationship between the variables. The result reveals that tourism has a positive effect on the ecological footprint. Similarly, economic policy uncertainty has a positive and significant effect on the ecological footprint in India during the sample period. Additionally, natural resource rent shows a positive effect on the ecological footprint or deteriorating environmental quality in the short and long run in the sample period. However, renewable energy consumption indicates a negative effect on the ecological footprint. The results reveal that TDI and EPU have rejected the null hypothesis of no Granger cause in the long, medium, and short term. While renewable energy has a causal relationship with ecological footprints in both the long run and medium run, it is imperative for India to adopt measures that facilitate the advancement of sustainable tourism, with a particular focus on promoting environmentally friendly lodging options, enhancing public transportation systems, and implementing effective waste management strategies.

Trade openness, human capital, natural resource, and carbon emission nexus: a CS-ARDL assessment for Central Asian economies.

There is a call for global efforts to preserve the ecological systems that can sustain economies and people's lives. However, carbon emission (CEM) threatens the sustainability of humanity and ecological systems. This analysis looked into the influence of energy use (ERU), human capital (HCI), trade openness (TOP), natural resource (NRR), population, and economic growth (ENG) on CEM. The paper gathered panel data from the Central Asia region from 1990 to 2020. The CS-ARDL was applied to establish the long-term interaction among the indicators. The paper's findings indicated the presence of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the Central Asia regions. Also, the empirical evidence highlighted that energy use, natural resources, and trade openness cause higher levels of CEM. However, the research verified that CEM can be improved through human capital and urban population growth. The study also found that HCI moderates the interaction between NRR and CEM. The causality assessment indicated a one-way interplay between ENG, ERU, NRR, and CEM. The study proposes that to support ecological stability in these regions, policy-makers should concentrate on developing human capital, investing in renewable energy sources, and utilizing contemporary technologies to harness natural resources in the economies of Central Asia.

Revisiting the relationship between natural resources and environmental quality- can ICT break the "resource curse" in the environment?

Despite the prevalence of discussions on the "resource curse", the impact of natural resources on environmental quality for better or for worse has not been clearly answered, this study aims to answer the question by introducing the role of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). To that end, by using the Instrumental Variable Generalized Method of Moments (IV GMM) estimator and a sample of 102 developing and emerging economies from 2006 to 2016, this paper studies the impact of ICT on the relationship between natural resources and environmental quality. Specially, the Environmental Performance Index (EPI) captures the environmental quality. The results show that natural resources have a significant negative effect on EPI, specially, EPI decreases by one unit with a 1% increase in natural resource rents. ICT significantly mitigates this adverse effect, and marginal effects analysis further confirms its positive moderate effects. The results proved to be robust by Lewbel 2SLS and Driscoll-Kraay techniques or other robust tests. It is noteworthy that the adverse effect of natural resources on EPI is greater and the mitigating effect of ICT is more pronounced in low-income countries and lower-middle income countries. Overall, these results remind resource-based countries to vigorously develop ICT, and apply intelligent exploration, digital monitoring, or other digital technologies to realize the high-efficiency use of natural resources, reducing environmental pollution and ecological damage.

Recycling thermally deactivated asbestos cement in mortar: A possible route towards a rapid conclusion of the "asbestos problem".

The "asbestos problem" arises from the fact that asbestos is still abundant in many buildings and represents a hazard for human health. Current strategies adopted by law aiming at mitigating this hazard are far from being ideal. A smarter solution would be an energy sustainable detoxification treatment followed by recycling. If adopted, it would preserve the environment from pollution, natural resources from depletion and human health from hazard. Asbestos-cement slates were thermally deactivated through a sustainable process and reused in mortar for plaster applications. We found that the addition up to 7 wt% of the deactivated product does not affect significantly the water demand; does not affect thixotropy, stickiness and spreadability of the plastic mixture; slightly increases the strength of the mortar; does not compromise mechanical properties after aging. Considering the huge amount of traditional mortar employed worldwide, a rapid end of the "asbestos problem" is envisaged.

Beach-cast seagrass wrack: A natural marine resource improving the establishment of dune plant communities under a changing climate.

Seagrass wrack plays multiple ecological roles in coastal habitats but is often removed from beaches and used for economical processing, neglecting its potential role in sustaining dune plant establishment under changing climate scenarios. Rainwater shortage is a major stress for seedlings and reduced precipitations are expected in some coastal areas. We investigated in mesocosm how wrack influenced seedling performance of Cakile maritima, Thinopyrum junceum, and Calamagrostis arenaria under current and reduced precipitation. We also assessed wrack water holding capacity and leachate chemical/physical properties. Wrack stimulated seedling growth while reduced precipitation decreased root development. Wrack mitigated the effects of reduced precipitation on T. junceum and C. arenaria biomass. Wrack retained water up to five-fold its weight, increased water pH, conductivity, and nutrient content. Wrack promotes dune colonization by vegetation even under rainwater shortage. Thus, the maintenance of this natural resource on beaches is critical for improving dune resilience against climate changes.

Microbial biotechnology and beyond: A roadmap for sustainable development and climate mitigation in the transition from fossil fuels to green chemistry.

Our planet, which operates as a closed system, is facing increasing entropy due to human activities such as the overexploitation of natural resources and fossil fuel use. The COP28 in Dubai emphasized the urgency to abandon fossil fuels, recognizing them as the primary cause of human-induced environmental changes, while highlighting the need to transition to renewable energies. We promote the crucial role of microbes for sustaining biogenic cycles to combat climate change and the economic potential of synthetic biology tools for producing diverse non-fossil fuels and chemicals, thus contributing to emission reduction in transport and industry. The shift to 'green chemistry' encounters challenges, derived from the availability of non-food residues and waste (mainly lignocellulosic) as raw material, the construction of cost-effective bioprocessing plants, product recovery from fermentation broths and the utilization of leftover lignin residues for synthesizing new chemicals, aligning with circular economy and sustainable development goals. To meet the Paris Agreement goals, an urgent global shift to low-carbon, renewable sources is imperative, ultimately leading to the cessation of our reliance on fossil fuels.

Affectation of COVID-19 pandemic on the use and abundance of wild resources in Tabasco, Mexico: A qualitative assessment.

Southern Mexico is particularly rich in natural resources, yet unemployment has risen to 8% during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of the pandemic on the use and abundance of Tabasco's wild resources was examined through personal surveys. By using Microsoft Forms® with cell phones 1,963 surveys were collected. Cronbach's alpha, Z-value, and chi2 were calculated using the MAXQDA Analytics Pro program. A higher abundance of wild resources before the pandemic than today (57% vs. 11%) was observed. During the pandemic, people referred more to a high use (28%) of resources than to a low use (20%). This caused the low abundance or scarcity of wild products to be greater during the pandemic than before the pandemic (43% vs. 4%). Wild foods and timber were the most used products. The pandemic has produced a greater use of natural resources probably due to the high unemployment rate in rural areas. Future studies of wild products should address the relevant products in the locality and their even sampling. Finding suitable respondents is highly recommended.