Nexus Between Urbanization, Industrialization, Natural Resources Rent, and Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions in South Asia: CS-ARDL Approach

Abstract

Rapid population growth and economic expansion affect environmental sustainability by raising emissions from increased urbanization, industrialization, and energy consumption in South Asia. Therefore, the current research aims to scrutinize the dynamic impacts of urbanization, industrialization, and energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in five South Asian countries (Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) under the umbrella of the famous stochastic regression for impact for technology, population, and asset on environmental condition (STIRPAT) model. This research employed the second-generation unit root and cointegration tests by applying the data from 1972 to 2021 to investigate the existence of slope heterogeneity (SH) and cross-sectional dependence (CSD) problem. After checking CSD, SH, unit root, and cointegration tests, the research utilized cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lag (CS-ARDL) as a baseline model and augmented mean group (AMG), mean group (MG), and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) as a robustness check. The evidence shows that the economic boom, urbanization, and industrialization increase CO 2 emissions. CO 2 emissions in South Asian nations have been reduced due to population growth, natural resources rent, and electrification. All estimators point to urbanization's negative effects, being far more severe than any other environmental impact. Conversely, natural resource rent prevents environmental degradation more effectively than electricity. Therefore, it is recommended that South Asian economies adopt consistent, sustainable economic policies to reap the benefits of industrialization, urbanization, and increased electricity use. The findings are generally consistent with the policy implications.

Revolutionizing Environmental Sustainability: The Role of Renewable Energy Consumption and Environmental Technologies in OECD Countries

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The Dynamic Impacts of Economic Growth, Financial Globalization, Fossil Fuel, Renewable Energy, and Urbanization on Load Capacity Factor in Mexico

“…Another common challenge experienced by major emerging countries is the environmental pressure stemming from the rapid growth of urbanization, which is often linked to a substantial increase in energy demands [2,17,19,45]. The research of Guloglu et al [39] revealed that as cities expanded, their load capacity factors diminished in 26 OECD countries from 1980 to 2018.…”

“…Carbon emissions are under intense study, revealing threats to environmental quality in developing nations like India, Mexico, Malaysia, the BRICS, and South Asian countries due to economic growth, global trade, population increase, and non-renewable resource usage [6,[15][16][17]. However, Akinsola et al [18] underline that carbon output, a significant GHG component, inadequately reflects ecological damage in both advanced and developing nations [19][20][21].…”

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