Abstract
This paper focuses on examining the effects of per capita environmental technology development on the load capacity factor (LCF) within the context of OECD member countries during the period spanning 1990 to 2021. To investigate these relationships, we employ the AMG estimator and FM-LS estimator. Additionally, we explore the validity of the load capacity curve for these countries and estimate the inflection points in the income per capita-environmental sustainability relationship. Our findings lead us to the conclusion that there is no significant impact of environmental technologies on environmental sustainability. Furthermore, we observe a negative influence on the development of environmental technologies, which can be attributed to the negative externalities associated with their implementation and the lack of societal adoption. Moreover, our estimations reveal an inflection point at $45,251.90 in terms of GDP per capita, beyond which the sustainability condition of the studied countries improves.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
Data will be made available upon reasonable request.
References
Abulibdeh A (2022) Time series analysis of environmental quality in the state of Qatar. Energy Policy 168:113089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113089
Acheampong AO, Boateng E, Annor CB (2024) Do corruption, income inequality and redistribution hasten transition towards (non)renewable energy economy? Struct Chang Econ Dyn 68:329–354. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.strueco.2023.11.006
Adabre MA, Chan APC, Darko A (2022) Interactive effects of institutional, economic, social and environmental barriers on sustainable housing in a developing country. Build Environ 207:108487. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108487
Adekoya OB, Ajayi GE, Suhrab M, Oliyide JA (2022) How critical are resource rents, agriculture, growth, and renewable energy to environmental degradation in the resource-rich African countries? The role of institutional quality. Energy Policy 164:112888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.112888
Ahakwa I, Xu Y, Tackie EA (2023) Greening human capital towards environmental quality in Ghana: insight from the novel dynamic ARDL simulation approach. Energy Policy 176:113514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2023.113514
Ajanaku BA, Collins AR (2021) Economic growth and deforestation in African countries: is the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis applicable? Forest Policy Econ 129:102488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forpol.2021.102488
Akyuz M, Gueye GN, Karul C (2022) Long-run dynamics between trade liberalization and income inequality in the European Union: a second generation approach. Empirica 49(3):769–792. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10663-022-09539-8
Alola AA, Özkan O, Usman O (2023) Role of non-renewable energy efficiency and renewable energy in driving environmental sustainability in India: evidence from the load capacity factor hypothesis. Energies 16(6):2847. https://doi.org/10.3390/en16062847
Altıntaş H, Kassouri Y (2020) The impact of energy technology innovations on cleaner energy supply and carbon footprints in Europe: a linear versus nonlinear approach. J Clean Prod 276:124140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124140
Amri F (2018) Carbon dioxide emissions, total factor productivity, ICT, trade, financial development, and energy consumption: testing environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Tunisia. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25(33):33691–33701. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3331-1
Appiah M, Li M, Sehrish S, Abaji EE (2023) Investigating the connections between innovation, natural resource extraction, and environmental pollution in OECD nations; examining the role of capital formation. Resour Policy 81:103312. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103312
Arshad Ansari M, Haider S, Khan NA (2020) Environmental Kuznets curve revisited: an analysis using ecological and material footprint. Ecol Ind 115:106416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106416
Ashouri MJ, Rafei M (2021) How do energy productivity and water resources affect air pollution in Iran? New evidence from a Markov Switching perspective. Resour Policy 71:101986. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.101986
Aust V, Morais AI, Pinto I (2020) How does foreign direct investment contribute to Sustainable Development Goals? Evidence from African countries. J Clean Prod 245:118823. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118823
Balsalobre-Lorente D, Driha OM, Halkos G, Mishra S (2022) Influence of growth and urbanization on CO2 emissions: the moderating effect of foreign direct investment on energy use in BRICS. Sustain Dev 30(1):227–240. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2240
Baltagi BH, Feng Q, Kao C (2012) A Lagrange Multiplier test for cross-sectional dependence in a fixed effects panel data model. J Econ 170(1):164–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2012.04.004
Breusch TS, Pagan AR (1980) The Lagrange Multiplier test and its applications to model specification in econometrics. Rev Econ Stud 47(1):239. https://doi.org/10.2307/2297111
Canadell JG, Le Quéré C, Raupach MR, Field CB, Buitenhuis ET, Ciais P, Conway TJ, Gillett NP, Houghton RA, Marland G (2007) Contributions to accelerating atmospheric CO2 growth from economic activity, carbon intensity, and efficiency of natural sinks. Proc Natl Acad Sci 104(47):18866–18870. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0702737104
Cologna V, Berthold A, Kreissel AL, Siegrist M (2024) Attitudes towards technology and their relationship with pro-environmental behaviour: development and validation of the GATT scale. J Environ Psychol 95:102258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2024.102258
Costantini V, Delgado FJ, Presno MJ (2023) Environmental innovations in the EU: a club convergence analysis of the eco-innovation index and driving factors of the clusters. Environ Innov Soc Trans 46:100698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100698
Cui Q, Zhou Z, Guan D, Zhou L, Huang K, Xue Y (2023) Spatiotemporal evolution trend and decoupling type identification of transport carbon emissions from economic development in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30(51):111459–111480. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29857-z
Dagar V, Khan MK, Alvarado R, Rehman A, Irfan M, Adekoya OB, Fahad S (2022) Impact of renewable energy consumption, financial development and natural resources on environmental degradation in OECD countries with dynamic panel data. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(12):18202–18212. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16861-4
Dam MM, Sarkodie SA (2023) Renewable energy consumption, real income, trade openness, and inverted load capacity factor nexus in Turkiye: revisiting the EKC hypothesis with environmental sustainability. Sustain Horiz 8:100063. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.horiz.2023.100063
Danish, Ulucak R, Erdogan S (2022) The effect of nuclear energy on the environment in the context of globalization: consumption vs production-based CO2 emissions. Nucl Eng Technol 54(4):1312–1320. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2021.10.030
Davis LW (2011) The effect of power plants on local housing values and rents. Rev Econ Stat 93(4):1391–1402. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00119
Destek MA, Sarkodie SA (2019) Investigation of environmental Kuznets curve for ecological footprint: the role of energy and financial development. Sci Total Environ 650:2483–2489. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.10.017
Ding H, Wang L, Zheng L (2018) Collaborative mechanism on profit allotment and public health for a sustainable supply chain. Eur J Oper Res 267(2):478–495. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2017.11.057
Dirisu JO, Salawu EY, Ekpe IC, Udoye NE, Falodun OE, Oyedepo SO, Ajayi OO, Kale SA (2024) Promoting the use of bioenergy in developing nations: a CDM route to sustainable development. Front Energy Res 11:1184348. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1184348
Dong K, Sun R, Jiang H, Zeng X (2018) CO2 emissions, economic growth, and the environmental Kuznets curve in China: what roles can nuclear energy and renewable energy play? J Clean Prod 196:51–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.05.271
Dröes MI, Koster HRA (2016) Renewable energy and negative externalities: the effect of wind turbines on house prices. J Urban Econ 96:121–141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jue.2016.09.001
Eberhardt M, Bond S (2009) Cross-section dependence in nonstationary panel models: a novel estimator: Vol. MPRA Paper 17692
Eberhardt M, Teal F (2011) Econometrics for grumblers: a new look at the literature on cross-country growth empirics. J Econ Surv 25(1):109–155. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2010.00624.x
Eckerberg K, Bjärstig T, Miljand M (2023) Steering ‘green’ innovation policy toward sustainability? Lessons from implementing EIP-AGRI in Sweden. Environ Innov Soc Trans 48:100732. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100732
Engel-Cox JA, Chapman A (2023) Accomplishments and challenges of metrics for sustainable energy, population, and economics as illustrated through three countries. Front Sustain Energy Pol 2:1203520. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsuep.2023.1203520
Gong Y (2023) Creating a greener future: the crucial role of green innovation and supply chain management in corporate sustainability. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30083-w
Grossman GM, Krueger AB (1995) Economic growth and the environment. Q J Econ 110(2):353–377. https://doi.org/10.2307/2118443
Guan Z, Hossain MR, Sheikh MR, Khan Z, Gu X (2023) Unveiling the interconnectedness between energy-related GHGs and pro-environmental energy technology: lessons from G-7 economies with MMQR approach. Energy 281:128234. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.128234
Guilló MD, Magalhães M (2023) Land capital and emissions convergence in an extended Green Solow model. Environ Dev Econ 28(1):25–46. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355770X22000110
Guloglu B, Emre Caglar A, Korkut Pata U (2023) Analyzing the determinants of the load capacity factor in OECD countries: evidence from advanced quantile panel data methods. Gondwana Res 118:92–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2023.02.013
Haider A, Rankaduwa W, Ul Husnain MI, Shaheen F (2022) Nexus between agricultural land use, economic growth and N2O emissions in Canada: is there an environmental Kuznets curve? Sustainability 14(14):8806. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148806
Hao Y, Ba N, Ren S, Wu H (2021) How does international technology spillover affect China’s carbon emissions? A new perspective through intellectual property protection. Sustain Prod Consum 25:577–590. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2020.12.008
Haugland BT (2023) The future is present: prefiguration in policy and technology experimentation. Environ Innov Soc Trans 48:100750. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100750
Houssam N, Ibrahiem DM, Sucharita S, El-Aasar KM, Esily RR, Sethi N (2023) Assessing the role of green economy on sustainable development in developing countries. Heliyon 9(6):e17306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e17306
Hussain M, Dogan E (2021) The role of institutional quality and environment-related technologies in environmental degradation for BRICS. J Clean Prod 304:127059. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.127059
Hussain M, Mir GM, Usman M, Ye C, Mansoor S (2022) Analysing the role of environment-related technologies and carbon emissions in emerging economies: a step towards sustainable development. Environ Technol 43(3):367–375. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2020.1788171
Ibrahim RL, Ajide KB (2021) The dynamic heterogeneous impacts of nonrenewable energy, trade openness, total natural resource rents, financial development and regulatory quality on environmental quality: evidence from BRICS economies. Resour Policy 74:102251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102251
IEA (2019) World Energy Balances 2019. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/3a876031-en
Im KS, Pesaran MH, Shin Y (2003) Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels. J Econ 115(1):53–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0304-4076(03)00092-7
Jin G, Huang Z (2023) Asymmetric impact of renewable electricity consumption and industrialization on environmental sustainability: evidence through the lens of load capacity factor. Renew Energy 212:514–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.05.045
Karim S, Appiah M, Naeem MA, Lucey BM, Li M (2022) Modelling the role of institutional quality on carbon emissions in Sub-Saharan African countries. Renew Energy 198:213–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.08.074
Khan I, Zakari A, Ahmad M, Irfan M, Hou F (2022) Linking energy transitions, energy consumption, and environmental sustainability in OECD countries. Gondwana Res 103:445–457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2021.10.026
Kilian L, Murphy DP (2014) The role of inventories and speculative trading in the global market for crude oil: speculation in oil markets. J Appl Economet 29(3):454–478. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.2322
Kirikkaleli D (2023) Resource efficiency, energy productivity, and environmental quality in Japan. Resour Policy 85:104006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.104006
Kong Z, Du J, Kong Y, Cui X (2024) Financial development, environmental regulation, and corporate green technology innovation: evidence from Chinese listed companies. Financ Res Lett 62:105122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2024.105122
Konrad S, Van Deursen M, Gupta A (2022) Capacity building for climate transparency: neutral ‘means of implementation’ or generating political effects? Climate Policy 22(5):557–575. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2021.1986364
Kuang H, Liang Y, Zhao W, Cai J (2023) Impact of natural resources and technology on economic development and sustainable environment — analysis of resources-energy-growth-environment linkages in BRICS. Resour Policy 85:103865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103865
Kuhl L (2020) Technology transfer and adoption for smallholder climate change adaptation: opportunities and challenges. Climate Dev 12(4):353–368. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2019.1630349
Kuznets S (1955) Economic growth and income inequality. Am Econ Rev 45:1–28
Lee C-C, Wang C, He Z, Xing W, Wang K (2023) How does green finance affect energy efficiency? The role of green technology innovation and energy structure. Renew Energy 219:119417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2023.119417
Li Y, Zhang Z, Westlund H, Liu Y (2015) Rural household income in transitional China: spatio-temporal disparity and its interpretation. China: An Int J 13(2):151–168. https://doi.org/10.1353/chn.2015.0016
Li P, Lin Z, Du H, Feng T, Zuo J (2021) Do environmental taxes reduce air pollution? Evidence from fossil-fuel power plants in China. J Environ Manage 295:113112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113112
Li C, Ahmad SF, Ahmad Ayassrah AYAB, Irshad M, Telba AA, Mahrous Awwad E, Imran Majid M (2023) Green production and green technology for sustainability: the mediating role of waste reduction and energy use. Heliyon 9(12):e22496. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22496
Liu X, Olanrewaju VO, Agyekum EB, El-Naggar MF, Alrashed MM, Kamel S (2022) Determinants of load capacity factor in an emerging economy: the role of green energy consumption and technological innovation. Front Environ Sci 10:1028161. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1028161
Lu Y, Gao Y, Zhang Y, Wang J (2022) Can the green finance policy force the green transformation of high-polluting enterprises? A quasi-natural experiment based on “Green Credit Guidelines.” Energy Econ 114:106265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106265
Lupi C (2009) Unit root CADF testing with R. J Stat Softw 32:2. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v032.i02
Mensi W, Sensoy A, Vo XV, Kang SH (2020) Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on asymmetric multifractality of gold and oil prices. Resour Policy 69:101829. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101829
Misleh D, Dziumla J, Garza MDL, Guenther E (2024) Sustainability against the logics of the state: political and institutional barriers in the Chilean infrastructure sector. Environ Innov Soc Trans 51:100842. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2024.100842
Murshed M, Saboori B, Madaleno M, Wang H, Doğan B (2022) Exploring the nexuses between nuclear energy, renewable energy, and carbon dioxide emissions: the role of economic complexity in the G7 countries. Renew Energy 190:664–674. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2022.03.121
Naeem MA, Karim S, Hasan M, Lucey BM, Kang SH (2022) Nexus between oil shocks and agriculture commodities: evidence from time and frequency domain. Energy Econ 112:106148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106148
Noda H, Kano S (2021) Environmental economic modeling of sustainable growth and consumption in a zero-emission society. J Clean Prod 299:126691. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126691
Pata UK (2021) Do renewable energy and health expenditures improve load capacity factor in the USA and Japan? A new approach to environmental issues. Eur J Health Econ 22(9):1427–1439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10198-021-01321-0
Pata UK, Kartal MT (2023) Impact of nuclear and renewable energy sources on environment quality: testing the EKC and LCC hypotheses for South Korea. Nucl Eng Technol 55(2):587–594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.net.2022.10.027
Peles SB, Kerret D (2021) Sustainable technology adoption by smallholder farmers and goal-oriented hope. Climate Dev 13(10):922–931. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2021.1872477
Pesaran MH (2004) General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels. Empir Econ 60(1):13–50. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00181-020-01875-7
Pesaran MH (2006) Estimation and inference in large heterogeneous panels with a multifactor error structure. Econometrica 74(4):967–1012. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0262.2006.00692.x
Pesaran MH (2007) A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence. J Appl Economet 22(2):265–312. https://doi.org/10.1002/jae.951
Pesaran MH (2015) Testing weak cross-sectional dependence in large panels. Economet Rev 34(6–10):1089–1117. https://doi.org/10.1080/07474938.2014.956623
Pesaran MH, Yamagata T (2008) Testing slope homogeneity in large panels. J Econ 142(1):50–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2007.05.010
Riley D, Schaafsma M, Marin-Moreno H, Minshull TA (2020) A social, environmental and economic evaluation protocol for potential gas hydrate exploitation projects. Appl Energy 263:114651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114651
Schleich J (2019) Energy efficient technology adoption in low-income households in the European Union — what is the evidence? Energy Policy 125:196–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.10.061
Schøning L, Hausner VH, Morel M (2023) Law and sustainable transitions: an analysis of aquaculture regulation. Environ Innov Soc Trans 48:100753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100753
Schüller D (2012) Technology transfer mechanisms and international cooperation to combat climate change. Climate Dev 4(2):78–87. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2012.727358
Solow RM (1956) A contribution to the theory of economic growth. Q J Econ 70(1):65. https://doi.org/10.2307/1884513
Sun C, Zhan Y, Gao X (2023a) Does environmental regulation increase domestic value-added in exports? An empirical study of cleaner production standards in China. World Dev 163:106154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.106154
Sun Y, Belgacem SB, Khatoon G, Nazir F (2023b) Impact of environmental taxation, green innovation, economic growth, and renewable energy on green total factor productivity. Gondwana Res S1342937X23003040. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gr.2023.10.016
Tovar Reaños MA, Meier D, Curtis J, Pillai A (2023) The role of energy, financial attitudes and environmental concerns on perceived retrofitting benefits and barriers: evidence from Irish home owners. Energy Build 297:113448. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2023.113448
Udemba EN, Yalçıntaş S (2021) Interacting force of foreign direct invest (FDI), natural resource and economic growth in determining environmental performance: a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) approach. Resour Policy 73:102168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102168
Ulucak R, Danish, Ozcan B (2020) Relationship between energy consumption and environmental sustainability in OECD countries: the role of natural resources rents. Resour Policy 69: 101803. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101803
Van Bommel N, Höffken JI (2023) The urgency of climate action and the aim for justice in energy transitions — dynamics and complexity. Environ Innov Soc Trans 48:100763. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eist.2023.100763
Wang L, Vo XV, Shahbaz M, Ak A (2020) Globalization and carbon emissions: is there any role of agriculture value-added, financial development, and natural resource rent in the aftermath of COP21? J Environ Manage 268:110712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110712
Wei X (2023) Sustainability metrics of environmental sustainability in Iranian manufacturing sector: achieving through human resources. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-30583-9
Westerlund J (2005) New simple tests for panel cointegration. Economet Rev 24(3):297–316. https://doi.org/10.1080/07474930500243019
Westerlund J, Basher SA (2008) Testing for convergence in carbon dioxide emissions using a century of panel data. Environ Resource Econ 40(1):109–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10640-007-9143-2
Xin B, Gao F (2023) Can green credit trigger net-zero entrepreneurship? Sustain Prod Consum 40:488–502. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2023.07.021
Yan Z, Yu Y, Du K, Zhang N (2024) How does environmental regulation promote green technology innovation? Evidence from China’s total emission control policy. Ecol Econ 219:108137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108137
Zhang Q, Zhang F, Mai Q (2022) Robot adoption and green productivity: curse or boon. Sustain Prod Consum 34:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.08.025
Zhang W, Fang X, Sun C (2023) The alternative path for fossil oil: electric vehicles or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles? J Environ Manage 341:118019. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.118019
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Soto, G., performed all stages of the paper, including data gathering, curation, software, modeling, drafting, and final writing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical approval
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Conflict of interest
The author declares no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Ilhan Ozturk
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Soto, G.H. Influence of environmental technologies and income on the environment in OECD member countries transitioning to low carbon societies. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33342-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-33342-6