Environmental Sustainability Analysis Using Moderation of Transport Competitiveness for Industrial-Induced EKC

Abstract

Combating adversities of climate change and promoting clean energy are two important goals of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The nations of the World have developed various commitments to reduce global warming. The transportation sector share is above twenty percent in total global Greenhouse Gas emissions which is continuously rising over time. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its recent report conducted a scenario analysis and suggested reducing net emissions by 2050. The transport competitiveness index indicates the quality and expansion of transport services. Accordingly, this research study uses the data of 121 countries for which transport competitiveness is documented by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The period of the study is confined to 2008-2018. The sample countries are segregated into four groups on the basis of transport sector emissions. The study uses Panel Quantile Regression (PQR) framework to estimate results and to validate the industrial Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC). The findings indicate that transport competitiveness mitigates transport sector emissions in the majority of groups/categories. Inverted U shape industrial EKC has been authenticated in group-1 and U shape industrial EKC for the other three groups. The moderation of transportation competitiveness specified the flattening of industrial EKC across all quantile groups. The empirical findings indicate that moderation results in the sustainability of industrial EKC at higher levels of industrial growth. Among other variables, the governing ability of institutions and planned population expansion are observed in mitigating emissions. The policy options are discussed depending on the results of the groups.