IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i10p3980-d1391532.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Greening the BRICS: How Green Innovation Mitigates Ecological Footprints in Energy-Hungry Economies

Author

Listed:
  • Junmei Zhang

    (College of Education, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China)

  • Iftikhar Yasin

    (Department of Economics, The University of Lahore, Lahore 54000, Pakistan)

Abstract

The escalating energy consumption seen in the BRICS countries, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, presents a substantial environmental problem, resulting in the depletion of resources, amplified carbon emissions, and endangering the well-being of ecological systems. The study examines the potential of green innovation to alleviate these adverse effects. By combining green technology with strong institutions and responsible energy consumption, we argue that the BRICS nations can significantly reduce their ecological footprint. This research, encompassing data from 1995 to 2022, employs Driscoll–Kraay and panel quantile regression to analyze the complex interplay of institutional quality, energy consumption, green innovation, and ecological footprints across the BRICS countries. Our findings reveal that green innovation is crucial in mitigating the ecological footprint, particularly when combined with resilient institutional quality and controlled energy use. Conversely, factors like high energy consumption, natural resource rent, and urbanization contribute to an increased ecological footprint. Notably, the study emphasizes the critical role of both institutional quality and renewable energy consumption in effectively reducing the ecological burden within the BRICS nations. These findings suggest that prioritizing investments in green technology and institutional development, even amidst high energy demands, represents a viable strategy for the BRICS nations to achieve sustainable growth and environmental responsibility.

Suggested Citation

  • Junmei Zhang & Iftikhar Yasin, 2024. "Greening the BRICS: How Green Innovation Mitigates Ecological Footprints in Energy-Hungry Economies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-24, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:10:p:3980-:d:1391532
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/3980/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/10/3980/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Jaganath Behera & Alok Kumar Mishra, 2020. "Renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and economic growth in G7 countries: evidence from panel autoregressive distributed lag (P-ARDL) model," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 241-258, February.
    2. Majeed, Abdul & Wang, Lijun & Zhang, Xiaohui & Muniba, & Kirikkaleli, Dervis, 2021. "Modeling the dynamic links among natural resources, economic globalization, disaggregated energy consumption, and environmental quality: Fresh evidence from GCC economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Sovacool, Benjamin K. & Dworkin, Michael H., 2015. "Energy justice: Conceptual insights and practical applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 435-444.
    4. Pesaran, H.M., 2003. "Estimation and Inference in Large Heterogeneous Panels with Cross Section Dependence," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 0305, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    5. Muhammad Shahbaz & Smile Dube & Ilhan Ozturk & Abdul Jalil, 2015. "Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in Portugal," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 5(2), pages 475-481.
    6. Hashem Pesaran, M. & Yamagata, Takashi, 2008. "Testing slope homogeneity in large panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 50-93, January.
    7. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    8. Damania, Richard & Fredriksson, Per G. & List, John A., 2003. "Trade liberalization, corruption, and environmental policy formation: theory and evidence," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 490-512, November.
    9. Yang, Qiang & Huo, Jiale & Saqib, Najia & Mahmood, Haider, 2022. "Modelling the effect of renewable energy and public-private partnership in testing EKC hypothesis: Evidence from methods moment of quantile regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C), pages 485-494.
    10. York, Richard & Rosa, Eugene A. & Dietz, Thomas, 2003. "STIRPAT, IPAT and ImPACT: analytic tools for unpacking the driving forces of environmental impacts," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(3), pages 351-365, October.
    11. Ahmad, Najid & Youjin, Liu & Žiković, Saša & Belyaeva, Zhanna, 2023. "The effects of technological innovation on sustainable development and environmental degradation: Evidence from China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    12. John C. Driscoll & Aart C. Kraay, 1998. "Consistent Covariance Matrix Estimation With Spatially Dependent Panel Data," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 80(4), pages 549-560, November.
    13. Wang, Ping & Wu, Wanshui & Zhu, Bangzhu & Wei, Yiming, 2013. "Examining the impact factors of energy-related CO2 emissions using the STIRPAT model in Guangdong Province, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 65-71.
    14. Kao, Chihwa, 1999. "Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 1-44, May.
    15. Sun, Yunpeng & Tian, Wenjuan & Mehmood, Usman & Zhang, Xiaoyu & Tariq, Salman, 2023. "How do natural resources, urbanization, and institutional quality meet with ecological footprints in the presence of income inequality and human capital in the next eleven countries?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    16. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    17. Saba, Charles Shaaba & David, Oladipo Olalekan, 2020. "Convergence patterns in global ICT: Fresh insights from a club clustering algorithm," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 44(10).
    18. Bo Li & Xuejing Liu & Zhenhong Li, 2015. "Using the STIRPAT model to explore the factors driving regional CO 2 emissions: a case of Tianjin, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 76(3), pages 1667-1685, April.
    19. Bhattarai, Madhusudan & Hammig, Michael, 2001. "Institutions and the Environmental Kuznets Curve for Deforestation: A Crosscountry Analysis for Latin America, Africa and Asia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 995-1010, June.
    20. Muhammad Awais Anwar & Ghulam Rasool Madni & Iftikhar Yasin, 2021. "Environmental quality, forestation, and health expenditure: a cross-country evidence," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(11), pages 16454-16480, November.
    21. Ulucak, Recep & Danish, & Ozcan, Burcu, 2020. "Relationship between energy consumption and environmental sustainability in OECD countries: The role of natural resources rents," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    22. Henry Kaiser, 1974. "An index of factorial simplicity," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 39(1), pages 31-36, March.
    23. Jahanger, Atif & Usman, Muhammad & Murshed, Muntasir & Mahmood, Haider & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel, 2022. "The linkages between natural resources, human capital, globalization, economic growth, financial development, and ecological footprint: The moderating role of technological innovations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Iftikhar Yasin & Nawaz Ahmad & Muhammad Aslam Chaudhary, 2021. "The impact of financial development, political institutions, and urbanization on environmental degradation: evidence from 59 less-developed economies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(5), pages 6698-6721, May.
    2. Javed, Aamir & Rapposelli, Agnese & Khan, Feroz & Javed, Asif & Abid, Nabila, 2024. "Do green technology innovation, environmental policy, and the transition to renewable energy matter in times of ecological crises? A step towards ecological sustainability," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    3. Hussein Moghaddam & Robert M. Kunst, 2023. "The Role of Natural Gas in Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis for Major Gas-Producing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Umut Uzar, 2022. "The connection between freedom of the press and environmental quality: An investigation on emerging market countries," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(1), pages 21-38, February.
    5. Khan, Yasir & Hassan, Taimoor & Guiqin, Huang & Nabi, Ghulam, 2023. "Analyzing the impact of natural resources and rule of law on sustainable environment: A proposed policy framework for BRICS economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    6. Schneider, Nicolas & Strielkowski, Wadim, 2023. "Modelling the unit root properties of electricity data—A general note on time-domain applications," Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, Elsevier, vol. 618(C).
    7. Angeliki N. Menegaki, 2019. "The ARDL Method in the Energy-Growth Nexus Field; Best Implementation Strategies," Economies, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-16, October.
    8. Rizwana Yasmeen & Ihtsham Ul Haq Padda & Xing Yao & Wasi Ul Hassan Shah & Muhammad Hafeez, 2022. "Agriculture, forestry, and environmental sustainability: the role of institutions," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(6), pages 8722-8746, June.
    9. Caravaggio, Nicola, 2020. "A global empirical re-assessment of the Environmental Kuznets curve for deforestation," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    10. Iftikhar Yasin & Nawaz Ahmad & M. Aslam Chaudhary, 2020. "Catechizing the Environmental-Impression of Urbanization, Financial Development, and Political Institutions: A Circumstance of Ecological Footprints in 110 Developed and Less-Developed Countries," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 147(2), pages 621-649, January.
    11. Tiba, Sofien & Frikha, Mohamed, 2019. "The controversy of the resource curse and the environment in the SDGs background: The African context," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 437-452.
    12. Ali, Kishwar & Jianguo, Du & Kirikkaleli, Dervis, 2022. "Modeling the natural resources and financial inclusion on ecological footprint: The role of economic governance institutions. Evidence from ECOWAS economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Jin, Taeyoung, 2022. "The evolutionary renewable energy and mitigation impact in OECD countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 570-586.
    14. Aytun, Cengiz & Erdogan, Sinan & Pata, Ugur Korkut & Cengiz, Orhan, 2024. "Associating environmental quality, human capital, financial development and technological innovation in 19 middle-income countries: A disaggregated ecological footprint approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    15. Sun, Chuanwang & Khan, Anwar & Liu, Yongzhe & Lei, Ni, 2022. "An analysis of the impact of fiscal and monetary policy fluctuations on the disaggregated level renewable energy generation in the G7 countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C), pages 1154-1165.
    16. Voumik, Liton Chandra & Ghosh, Smarnika & Rashid, Mamunur & Das, Mihir Kumar & Esquivias, Miguel Angel & Rojas, Omar, 2024. "The effect of geopolitical risk and green technology on load capacity factors in BRICS," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    17. Ahmad, Munir & Wu, Yiyun, 2022. "Natural resources, technological progress, and ecological efficiency: Does financial deepening matter for G-20 economies?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    18. Eibinger, Tobias & Deixelberger, Beate & Manner, Hans, 2024. "Panel data in environmental economics: Econometric issues and applications to IPAT models," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    19. Afef Bouattour & Maha Kalai & Kamel Helali, 2024. "The non-linear relationship between ESG performance and bank stability in the digital era: new evidence from a regime-switching approach," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Thai-Ha Le, 2021. "Drivers of greenhouse gas emissions in ASEAN + 6 countries: a new look," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(12), pages 18096-18115, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:10:p:3980-:d:1391532. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.