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Environmental sustainability concerns are increasing worldwide; both developing and developed countries face environmental degradation. Literature has highlighted the environment-growth nexus; however, the impact of environmental-related technologies on the environment is ignored in early studies. This study aims to explore the implications of financial development, environmental-related technologies, research and development, energy intensity, renewable energy production, natural resource depletion, and temperature in a sustainable environment in Canada by using a time series model, i.e., dynamic ARDL simulations (Jordan and Philips 2018 ) with data from 1989 to 2020. The examined findings of the dynamic ARDL simulations indicate that environmental-related technologies in Canada help to reduce environmental degradation both in the short run and in the long run. At the same time, financial development, energy intensity, renewable energy production, research and development, natural resource depletion, and temperature causes boost the environmental degradation in Canada. To achieve sustainable environment, Canada needs to improve innovations in the environmental-related technologies for achieving sustainable growth and environment.

   This study explores the nexus between natural resource depletion, renewable energy use, and environmental degradation in 48 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries from the period 2000 to 2020 using generalized panel quantile regression. The findings show that, at 90 th quantiles the magnitude of natural resource depletion is positive and stronger associated with environmental degradation in SSA. This is probably attributed by countries with higher natural resource depletion such as Congo Republic (37.10%), Equatorial Guinea (27.60%), Angola (21.14%), Gabon (12.84%), Chad (12.19%), Burundi (8.92%), Uganda (6.16%), and Congo Democratic (5.24%). Furthermore, at lower quantiles (30 th and 10 th ), natural resource depletion negatively affects environmental degradation in SSA. This might be attributed by countries with negligible natural resource depletion like Carbo Verde (0.16%), Central African Republic (0.04%), Comoros (1.17%), Eswatini (0.01%), Gambia (0.92%), Guinea-Bissau (0.33%), and Madagascar (0.07%). Moreover, the findings show that renewable energy use reduces environmental degradation and is statistically significant at almost all quantiles. Finally, the findings reveal that industrialization, trade, and economic growth all contribute to environmental degradation (i.e. carbon emissions) in SSA. The policy implication is to adopt measures that reduce poverty, which is linked to natural resource depletion, and scale up renewable energy use technologies for SSA. Policymakers should develop strategies to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and enable better use of natural resources by enforcing environmental laws. Concurrently, we propose natural resource management to be multi-sectoral and integrated into institutional structures by allocating funds to the natural resources sector for intervention programs in SSA countries.

PurposeIn 1995, the original method for assessing the impact category abiotic resource depletion using abiotic depletion potentials (ADPs) was published. The ADP of a resource was defined as the ratio of the annual production and the square of the ultimate (crustal content based) reserve for the resource divided by the same ratio for a reference resource (antimony (Sb)). In 2002, ADPs were updated based on the most recent USGS annual production data. In addition, the impact category was sub-divided into two categories, using two sets of ADPs: the ADP for fossil fuels and the ADP for elements; in this article, we focus on the ADP for elements. Since then, ADP values have not been updated anymore despite the availability of updates of annual production data and also updates of crustal content data that constitute the basis of the ultimate reserves. Moreover, it was known that the coverage of elements by ADPs was incomplete. These three aspects together can affect relative ranking of abiotic resources based on the ADP. Furthermore, dealing with annually changing production data might have to be revisited by proposing new calculation procedures. Finally, category totals to calculate normalized indicator results have to be updated as well, because incomplete coverage of elements can lead to biased results.MethodsWe used updated reserve estimates and time series of production data from authoritative sources to calculate ADPs for different years. We also explored the use of several variations: moving averages and cumulative production data. We analyzed the patterns in ADP over time and the contribution by different elements in the category total. Furthermore, two case studies are carried out applying two different normalization reference areas (the EU 27 as normalization reference area and the world) for 2010.Results and discussionWe present the results of the data updates and improved coverage. On top of this, new calculation procedures are proposed for ADPs, dealing with the annually changing production data. The case studies show that the improvements of data and calculation procedures will change the normalized indicator results of many case studies considerably, making ADP less sensitive for fluctuating production data in the future.ConclusionsThe update of ultimate reserve and production data and the revision of calculation procedures of ADPs and category totals have resulted in an improved, up-to-date, and more complete set of ADPs and a category total that better reflects the total resource depletion magnitude than before. An ADP based on the cumulative production overall years is most in line with the intent of the original ADP method. We further recommend to only use category totals based on production data for the same year as is used for the other (emission-based) impact categories.

PURPOSE: Despite 20 years of research, there remains no robust, globally agreed upon method—or even problem statement—for assessing mineral resource inputs in life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). As a result, inclusion of commonly used methods such as abiotic depletion potential (ADP) in life cycle assessment (LCA)-related evaluation schemes could lead to incorrect decisions being made in many applications. In this paper, we explore in detail how to improve the way that life cycle thinking is applied to the acquisition of mineral resources and their metal counterparts. METHODS: This paper evaluates the current body of work in LCIA with regard to “depletion potential” of mineral resources. Viewpoints from which models are developed are described and analyzed. The assumptions, data sources, and calculations that underlie currently used methods are examined. A generic metal-containing product is analyzed to demonstrate the vulnerability of results to the denominator utilized in calculating ADP. The adherence to the concept of the area of protection (AOP) is evaluated for current models. The use of ore grades, prices, and economic availability in LCIA is reviewed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results demonstrate that any work on resource depletion in a life cycle context needs to have a very clear objective or LCIA will not accurately characterize mineral resource use from any perspective and decision-making will continue to suffer. New, harmonized terminology is proposed so that LCA practitioners can build better mutual understanding with the mineral industry and recommendations regarding more promising tools for use in life cycle sustainability assessment (LCSA) are given. CONCLUSIONS: The economic issue of resource availability should be evaluated in parallel with traditional LCA, not within. LCIA developers should look to economists, the market, and society in general, for broader assessments that consider shorter-time horizons than the traditional LCIA methods. To do so, the concept of the AOP in LCA needs to be redefined for LCSA to ensure that models estimate what is intended. Finally, recommendations regarding mineral resource assessment are provided to ensure that future research has a sound basis and practitioners can incorporate the appropriate tools in their work.

The aim of this study is to test the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) and pollution haven (PH) hypotheses in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). An important methodological point that has been over-looked by many studies is that environmental quality is not only correlated in time but also in space. For this purpose, the study applies spatial panel econometric analysis using a balanced panel of 35 SSA nations from 2002 to 2015 to examine the EKC and PH hypotheses. Both spatial interdependence and individual heterogeneity are accounted for through the application of the spatial Durbin model (SDM) so as to avoid potential bias and inefficiencies in parameter estimates. As proxies for environmental quality, panel data aggregates on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and the depletion of natural resources are utilised. The findings offer proof for the EKC theory about the depletion of natural resources in SSA. The EKC theory, however, does not apply to CO 2 emissions. Moreover, the study finds that the positive scale effect of trade outweighs the negative technique effect of trade, which indicates that trade liberalisation has a negative effect on both environmental quality indices. This discovery supports the PH theory. The study also demonstrates positive spatial spill-over for natural resource depletion between neighbouring countries and negative spatial spill-over for carbon dioxide emission between close countries.

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of air-railways transportation on environmental degradation in the form of high mass carbon emission, natural resource depletion and forest depletion in the context of Pakistan by using an annual time series data from 1975 to 2016. The results show that railway passengers carried increases carbon emissions while air-railways transportation and travel services degrade environment in the form of natural resource depletion. The study verified “pollution haven hypothesis” where trade liberalization policies increases carbon emissions; however, “population genius” principle is hold where population growth conserve natural resources and environment through affluence and technology. The study concluded that government should take serious action to re-define transportation infrastructure in order to promote environmental sustainability agenda by introducing green vehicles and green transportation system, which is imperative for country’s long-term sustainable development.

Free trade has been identified as an effective conduit for enhancing economic growth and development. However, encouraging free trade has several environmental implications. As African countries commit to implementing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, the need arises for research to be conducted into assessing the implications of the expected increase in free trade on the environment. It is against this backdrop, as well as the paucity of literature in the subject area, that the study seeks to assess the economic implications of free trade arising from preferential trade agreements (PTAs) on environmental quality in Africa. The study further attempts to establish the effect of institutional quality on environmental quality in Africa. The study’s theoretical framework is based on the trade-environment nexus model developed by Antweiler (AER 91:877–908, 2001) and employs the panel ARDL model for analysis, using data on thirty African countries, over the period 1990–2016. Findings from the study revealed that negative trade-induced scale effect and composition effect dominates the positive trade-induced technique, thereby, suggesting that free trade is detrimental to environment quality in the long-run, using natural resource depletion and carbon dioxide as measures of environmental quality. The study further found improvement in institutional quality (through enhancement in regulatory quality) to have a positive effect on environmental quality. The study recommends that afforestation policies should form an integral part of governments’ developmental agenda in Africa. Also, government policies should be geared towards encouraging businesses to adopt green technologies, whereas households are motivated to employ and sustain the use of clean energy.

The objective of the study is to examine the impact of natural disasters on environmental resource depletion in a context of Pakistan by using a consistent time series data from 1975 to 2016. The results of quantile regression confirm that both the natural and technical disaster degrade the environment in the form of forest depletion, mineral depletion and energy resource depletion at different quantile distributions. Further, FDI inflows and per capita income deteriorate natural environment through unsustainable mode of production in a country. The results emphasized the need to make an efficient disaster management unit to minimize economic losses through large-scale information and communication technologies. The results conclude that natural resources globally are being consumed faster than the speed of restoration. Worse is the case in Pakistan. As such the Government should make a systematic methodology to identify the protectoral functions within the communities for safeguarding and reestablishing these natural resources.

The relationship between air freight and environmental resource depletion is a widely explored area in different economic settings. There, however, is limited work available in the mediation of carbon pricing between air freight and environmental resource depletion, which is the focus of this study in the context of Saudi Arabia. This study aims to examine the role of carbon pricing in the relationship among air freight, foreign direct investment inflows, economic growth, and natural resource depletion in Saudi Arabia by using time series data from 1970 to 2017. The study employed a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model to find the short-term and long-term relationship between the variables. The results reveal that in the short term, the negative shocks of air freight exhausted natural resources, while in the long term, both the positive and negative shocks of air freight drain the country’s environmental resources. The study verified the inverted U-shaped relationship between initial economic growth and natural resource depletion in the short term, while this result disappeared in the long term. There is a positive relationship between foreign direct investment inflows and natural resource depletion to support the “pollution haven” hypothesis in the short term. In the long term, carbon pricing advances the natural resource market to support the country’s environmental sustainability agenda. There is a high need to formulate sustainable air freight policies to mitigate the negative environmental concerns in the country.Graphic abstract

PurposeThe present study is a novel attempt to measure the impact of population growth, natural resource depletion, non-renewable energy consumption, growth of national income, remittances inflow and industrial output on carbon dioxide emissions in India during the period of 1980–2018.Design/methodology/approachAutoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) is used to achieve the objective. The application of FMOLS (fully modified ordinary least squares), DOLS (dynamic ordinary least squares) and CCR (canonical cointegrating regression) techniques illustrate statistical robustness.FindingsThe long-run ARDL results confirm that increase in population, national income and energy consumption have a positive and significant impact on pollution levels in India. In contradiction to this, long run results further reveal that the increase in natural resource depletion, industrial output and remittances inflow have insignificant and negative impact on pollution levels in India. Further, the empirical findings did not find any evidence for the applicability of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in India during the study period.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is confined to only a few important determinants of CO2 emissions in India. However, there is a large chunk of studies that have incorporated other determinants of CO2 emissions. Specifying a few determinants of CO2 emissions in India is itself a lacuna in the present study. Moreover, taking the time period from 1980 to 2018 is also one of the limitations of the study.Practical implicationsPlenty of research has been devoted to the causal relationship between the environment and its various determinants. However, not much attention has been paid to investigating the association between population growth, natural resource depletion, energy consumption, GDP per capita, remittances inflow, industry and carbon dioxide emissions in India. Since, CO2 emissions are one of the widely accepted and applied emissions in EKC applications, which the present study intends to test. Moreover, the study employs advanced econometric techniques including ARDL framework, FMOLS, DOLS and CRR methodologies to achieve robust results. Such an investigation will potentially allow policymakers to frame efficient environmental and fiscal policies to achieve the desired results.Originality/valueThe continuous increase of CO2 emissions in India has compelled policy makers to prioritize this issue as soon as possible and formulate national environmental policy for reducing the share of carbon dioxides emissions in climate change. The study could constitute the focus of future research.