Investigation of the environmental Kuznets curve for carbon emissions in Malaysia: Do foreign direct investment and trade matter?

Environmental degradation has become a central issue of discussion among the economists and environmentalists. In view of Malaysia's position as one of the main contributors to CO₂ emissions in Asia and its status as a fast growing economy, it is vital, therefore, to conduct a study to identify the relationship between economic growth and CO₂ emissions for Malaysia. This study attempts to examine empirically the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for Malaysia in the presence of foreign direct investment and trade openness both in the short- and long-run for the period 1970 to 2008.The bounds testing approach and Granger causality methodology are applied to test the interrelationships of the variables. The results of our study indicate that the inverted-U shaped relationship does exist between economic growth and CO₂ emission in both the short- and long-run for Malaysia after controlling for two additional explanatory variables, namely FDI and trade. Importantly, the results of the study also provide some crucial policy recommendations to the policy makers.     

The pollution concern in the era of globalization: Do the contribution of foreign direct investment and trade openness matter?

This analysis aims to treat the contribution of the foreign direct investment inflows and trade openness to environmental degradation. Drawing on the data for 27 African countries over the period from 1990 to 2013, we develop an empirical model based on a set of panel methods. This approach includes Westerlund (2007) panel cointegration technic, Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCE-MG) estimation procedure, and the Granger causality test. In terms of long-term causality, our findings reveal bidirectional long-term causality between CO₂/NO_x emissions, GDP, trade openness, and foreign direct investment. Besides, in the short-run, the results recorded a unidirectional causality running from GDP to CO₂, and from FDI to CO₂. However, bidirectional causality nexus was detected between trade openness and CO₂. Additionally, the findings portray bidirectional causality between GDP and NO_x and between trade openness and NO_x, while a unidirectional causality from foreign direct investment to NO_x. Our analysis substantiates the importance of the foreign direct investment inflows and trade openness in mitigating the adverse effect of heavy pollutant activities and resolving the environmental puzzle (growing without polluting) consistent with the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) of the UN background.     

Is there dependence and systemic risk between oil and renewable energy stock prices?

We study systemic risk and dependence between oil and renewable energy markets using copulas to characterize the dependence structure and to compute the conditional value-at-risk as a measure of systemic risk. We found significant time-varying average and symmetric tail dependence between oil returns and several global and sectoral renewable energy indices. Our evidence on systemic risk indicates that oil price dynamics significantly contributes around 30% to downside and upside risk of renewable energy companies. These results have important implications for risk management and renewable energy policies.     

Energy and CO2 emissions performance in China's regional economies: Do market-oriented reforms matter?

This paper employs a newly developed non-radial directional distance function to evaluate China's regional energy and CO₂ emission performance for the period 1997–2009. Moreover, we analyze the impact of China's market-oriented reform on China's regional energy and carbon efficiency. The main findings are as follows. First, most of China's regions did not perform efficiently in energy use and CO₂ emissions. Provinces in the east area generally performed better than those in the central and west areas. By contrast, provinces in the west area generally evidenced the lowest efficiency. Second, Market-oriented reforms, especially the promotion of factor market, were found to have positive effect on the efficiency of energy use and CO₂ emissions. Third, the share of coal in the total energy consumption and the expansion of the industrial sector were found to be negatively correlated with China's regional energy and CO₂ emissions performance. Based on the empirical findings, we provide policy suggestions for enhancing energy and carbon efficiency in China.     

Is there a homogeneous causality pattern between oil prices and currencies of oil importers and exporters?

Although the link between oil prices and dollar exchange rates has been frequently analyzed, a clear distinction between prices and nominal exchange rate dynamics and a clarification of the issue of causality has not been provided. In addition, previous studies have mostly neglected nonlinearities which for example may stem from exogenous oil price shocks. Using monthly data for various oil-exporting and oil-importing countries, this study contributes to the clarification of those issues. We discriminate between long-run and time-varying short-run dynamics, using a Markov-switching vector error correction model. In terms of causality, the results differ between the economies under observation but suggest that the most important causality runs from exchange rates to oil prices, with a depreciation of the dollar triggering an increase in oil prices. On the other hand, changes in nominal oil prices are responsible for ambiguous real exchange rate effects mostly through the price differential and partly also through a direct influence on the nominal exchange rate. Overall, the fact that the adjustment pattern frequently differs between regimes underlines the fact that the relationships are subject to changes over time, suggesting that nonlinearities are an important issue when analyzing oil prices and exchange rates.     

Slowing down of globalization and global CO2 emissions – A causal or casual association?

In recent years we have witnessed slowdowns of both globalization and global CO₂ emissions. Not only have Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) economies, such as the US and the UK, tried to bring manufacturing back to their home countries but non-OECD economies, such as China and India, have also increased their shares of domestic products at both intermediate and final goods. In this paper, we employ the annual global multi-regional input–output tables compiled by the Asian Development Bank to explore the linkage of the recent slowdown in globalization and global CO₂ emissions for the period 2012–2016. Our results suggest that there are indeed some clues indicating a slowdown of globalization in several leading OECD and non-OECD economies. However, the changes of consumption in non-OECD economies are much larger than are those in OECD economies. At the aggregate level, the effects of globalization on emissions have been dominated by non-OECD economies (in particular China and India), showing a negative linkage. More specifically, the changing pattern of globalization has contributed a net increase of 202 Mt. in global CO₂ emissions. The recent slowdown of global CO₂ emissions cannot, in general, be attributed to the slowdown of globalization.     

Replication of Strazicich and List (2003): Are CO2 emission levels converging among industrial countries?

Strazicich and List (Are CO₂ Emission Levels Converging among Industrial Countries? Environmental and Resource Economics 2003; 24: 263–271) examine whether CO₂ emissions converge among the twenty-one industrial countries from 1960 to 1997. This study replicates their main results and performs a similar analysis on a more recent dataset and a new econometric method. Their findings are confirmed to a large extent.     

Brazil's current and future land balances: Is there residual land for bioenergy production?

This study presents a new database of land use categories in Brazil at a spatial resolution of 30 arc-second (about 1 km²). The spatial representation of current major land uses formally combines agricultural statistics from Brazil's latest census of the year 2006 at micro-region level and the Food and Agriculture Organization 2010 forest statistics with spatial land cover data sets. Spatial allocation (“downscaling”) algorithms were applied to obtain a spatial distribution of seven major land use categories. Remaining shares in each grid-cell were termed residual land, and were categorized according to legal protection status, biodiversity value, and whether they belong to the territory of the Amazon biome. We found a total of 84 Mha residual land of which 37 Mha occurred outside the territory of the Amazon biome and was neither legally protected nor categorized as highly biodiverse land. The 37 Mha “available residual land” equates to 4.4% of Brazil's geographical area and to 50% of its current cultivated land area. We assessed land quality using the Agro-ecological Zones modelling framework provides land suitability and productivity estimates of the available residual land. Nearly one-third of land emerged of prime quality and is therefore promising for biofuel feedstock production. Analysis of potential food-fuel competition suggests that until 2030 productivity improvements on current pastures could accommodate land demand for Brazil's increasing cattle herd and expanding croplands. If these productivity increases could be achieved on current agricultural land, residual land could provide areas for the sustainable expansion of biofuel feedstock production.     

Carbonization Index and Energy Intensity in the Formation of Worldwide CO2 Emissions, 1971–2000

This study uses three methods to explore the roles of the carbonization index and energy intensity in the formation of CO ₂ emissions throughout the world based on statistics from 1971 to 2000. The finding is that the role of both the carbonization index and energy intensity is the same in the formation of CO ₂ emissions. That is, they decreased CO ₂ emissions. However, the decrease of CO ₂ emissions caused by energy intensity is larger than the decrease of CO ₂ emissions caused by the decarbonization index. The estimated rates of the former to the latter are four times larger.     

Methanol synthesis from renewable H2 and captured CO2 from S-Graz cycle – Energy,exergy, exergoeconomic and exergoenvironmental (4E) analysis

Thermodynamic, economic and environmental analyses of a combined CO₂ capturing system, including, geothermal driven dual fluid organic Rankine cycle (ORC), proton exchange membrane electrolyzer (PEME), S-Graz cycle and methanol synthesis unit (MSU) were carried out. The presented zero emission system was designed based on the oxy-fuel combustion carbon capturing to produce power, hydrogen and methanol, while released CO₂ can be captured. Generated renewable power by the ORC was utilized by the PEME to produce renewable hydrogen. Part of the produced hydrogen is fed to the MSU, while the rest was stored in hydrogen tanks. In fact, CO₂ hydrogenation to produce methanol suggested via direct methanol synthesis in order to utilize the captured CO₂ from the S-Graz cycle. Exergy efficiency of the system defined to analyze the system thermodynamically, while SPECO method utilized to evaluate system economically. Results revealed that the most important part of the system is the S-Graz cycle, from the viewpoint of capital investment. Also, the average product unit cost of 24.88 $/GJ obtained for the whole system.     

Is there a relationship between public expenditures in energy R&D and carbon emissions per GDP? An empirical investigation

Energy innovation plays a crucial role in the reduction of carbon emissions. In order to design climate and energy policies that promote the development, deployment and diffusion of new energy technologies, policy makers not only require a theoretical understanding of the energy innovation system, but also empirical evidence of the effects that policy actions have had. This paper focuses on public energy R&D, a traditional and controversial option among the various climate technology policies, and empirically analyses its relationship with carbon emissions per GDP (i.e. carbon intensity) and its two components: energy intensity and the carbon factor. Evidence of the causality links that have prevailed in 13 advanced economies over the 1980–2004 period has been obtained through dynamic panel models. Our findings confirm that government R&D spending is not sufficient by itself to boost the energy innovation process. Public energy R&D has been successful in improving energy efficiency at country level, but it has failed to have a significant impact on the carbon factor and carbon intensity. At the same time the formation of energy R&D budgets is found to be significantly affected by carbon trends.     

Is the H2 economy realizable in the foreseeable future? Part III: H2 usage technologies,applications, and challenges and opportunities

Energy enthusiasts in developed countries explore sustainable and efficient pathways for accomplishing zero carbon footprint through the H₂ economy. The major objective of the H₂ economy review series is to bring out the status, major issues, and opportunities associated with the key components such as H₂ production, storage, transportation, distribution, and applications in various energy sectors. Specifically, Part I discussed H₂ production methods including the futuristic ones such as photoelectrochemical for small, medium, and large-scale applications, while Part II dealt with the challenges and developments in H₂ storage, transportation, and distribution with national and international initiatives. Part III of the H₂ economy review discusses the developments and challenges in the areas of H₂ application in chemical/metallurgical industries, combustion, and fuel cells. Currently, the majority of H₂ is being utilized by a few chemical industries with >60% in the oil refineries sector, by producing grey H₂ by steam methane reforming on a large scale. In addition, the review also presents the challenges in various technologies for establishing greener and sustainable H₂ society.     

Is the H2 economy realizable in the foreseeable future? Part II: H2 storage,transportation, and distribution

The goal of the review series on the H₂ economy is to highlight the current status, major issues, and opportunities associated with H₂ production, storage, transportation, distribution and usage in various energy sectors. In particular, Part I discussed the various H₂ (grey and green) production methods including the futuristic ones such as photoelectrochemical for small, medium, and large-scale applications. Part II of the H₂ economy review identifies the developments and challenges in the areas of H₂ storage, transportation and distribution with national and international initiatives in the field, all of which suggest a pathway for establishing greener H₂ society in the near future. Currently, various methods, comprising physical and chemical routes are being explored with a focus on improving the H₂ storage density, capacity, and reducing the cost. H₂ transportation methods by road, through pipelines, and via ocean are pursued actively in expanding the market for large scale applications around the world. As of now, compressed H₂ and its transportation by road is the most realistic option for the transportation sector.     

The long-term relationship between CO2 emissions and economic activity in a small open economy: Uruguay 1882–2010

The long-term relationship between carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from energy use and economic activity level is estimated for Uruguay between 1882 and 2010. We include CO₂ emissions both in levels and in per capita terms, which allows to analyze if a decoupling exists both in absolute and in relative terms. We also test for the functional form of the relationship, something that is usually missed in the literature, but which is very relevant, because a misspecification could lead to biased estimates. We apply cointegration techniques and estimate a vector error correction model (VECM) for testing whether these variables are endogenous over the long-term while also considering the short-term dynamics. The economic productive structure, the degree of openness, and the share of clean sources in the total energy supply are also considered as explanatory variables. In addition, other variables that measure changes in the economic structure are included to check for robustness of the estimates. The results show that there is a linear relationship (when a log-log transformation is employed) between CO₂ emissions and per capita economic activity level (which would involve an exponential relationship between the non-transformed variables). Moreover, we cannot reject the level-log model, indicating that emissions increase at a decreasing rate in reference to the increase in economic level activity. Emissions increase jointly with the industrial sector's participation in the total output, as a consequence of the intensity of this activity in the consumption of energy from fossil fuel sources. The degree of openness is inversely related to CO₂ emissions. This is because the periods of major opening were based on primary input exports, which are lower in energy intensity than industrial products. The changes in CO₂ emission are inversely related to the variation in the share of clean sources in the total energy supply. Finally, all the variables included in the cointegration vector are endogenous, adjusting together to the deviations from the long-term relationship. As a consequence of the above, economic growth appears not to be enough for diminishing Uruguayan emissions in the long term. Changes in the energy matrix should be encouraged, and emissions reduction should come not through energy constraints but through the development of clean sources, or improvements in energy use efficiency, given the impact of energy on the economic activity level.     

CO2 emissions from household consumption in India between 1993–94 and 2006–07: A decomposition analysis

CO₂ emission from anthropogenic activities is one of the major causes of global warming. India being an agriculture dependent country, global warming would mean monsoon instability and consequent food scarcity, natural disasters and economic concerns. However with proper policy interventions, CO₂ emissions can be controlled. Input–output analysis has been used to estimate direct and indirect CO₂ emissions by households for 1993–94, 1998–99, 2003–04 and 2006–07. Complete decomposition analysis of the changes in CO₂ emissions between 1993–94 and 2006–07 has been done to identify the causes into pollution, energy intensity, structure, activity and population effects according to broad household consumption categories. Results indicate that activity, structure and population effects are the main causes of increase in CO₂ emission from household fuel consumption. To identify the causes at the sectoral level a second decomposition has been done for changes between 2003–04 and 2006–07 to identify the causes in the next stage. Finally alternative energy policy options have been examined for each consumption category to reduce emissions. Combined strategies of technology upgradation, fuel switching and market management in order to reduce CO₂ emissions for sectors like Batteries, Other non-electrical machinery, Construction and Electronic equipments (including Television), for which all the effects are positive, need to be adopted.     

Potential impact on air pollution from ambitious national CO2 emission abatement strategies in the Nordic countries – environmental links between the UNFCCC and the UNECE – CLRTAP

This article presents results from a meta-study of Nordic low carbon dioxide (CO₂) emission scenarios. The focus of the study was to explore possible environmental impacts if selected Nordic low CO₂ emission scenarios were achieved by 2020. The impacts of concern were climate change, acidification, eutrophication and human health. Results from this study indicate that large scale reduction of CO₂ emissions by 2020 in a Nordic energy system requires large scale penetration of technical measures and structural changes. The environmental improvements achieved would most often facilitate achievement of air pollution targets as well as post-Kyoto targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All scenarios do, however, not imply co-benefits between air pollution and CO₂ emission reductions and the net impact on climate change could be smaller than anticipated. A conclusion is that co-benefits and risks for trade-offs between air quality and climate change should be emphasised in the development of low-CO₂ energy and emission strategies.     

How does tax system on energy industries affect energy demand,CO2 emissions,and economy in China?

Energy savings and CO₂ emission reduction have become a major issue in recent years. Taxes on energy production sectors may be an effective way to save energy, reduce CO₂ emissions, and improve environmental quality. This paper constructs a dynamic recursive Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to analyze the impact of the energy tax on energy, economy, and environment from the perspective of tax rates and tax forms (specific tax and ad valorem tax). The results show that adjusting the tax system and the tax rate has important implications for energy conservation while having minor impacts on the output of other industries. The impact of an increasing energy tax on the energy demand is greater than the impact on sectoral output, indicating that energy efficiency will be increased to some extent. The CO₂ reduction will increase over time when an ad valorem tax is implemented on enterprises. We found that ad valorem tax has greater elasticity of economic output, energy demand, and CO₂ emission reduction. The results support the direction of China's resource tax reform. However, we argue that it is better to increase the tax rate relatively and relax the control on energy prices so that energy efficiency will increase.     

Correlation between CO surface coverage and selectivity/kinetics for the preferential CO oxidation over Pt/γ-Al2O3 and Au/α-Fe2O3: an in-situ DRIFTS study

We present in-situ IR (DRIFTS) measurements on CO adsorption and preferential CO oxidation (PROX) in H₂-rich gas on Pt/γ-Al₂O₃ and Au/α-Fe₂O₃ catalysts at their envisaged operating temperatures of 200°C and 80°C, respectively, which in combination with kinetic data show that the underlying reason for the very different PROX reaction kinetics on these two catalysts is the difference in steady-state CO coverage. Whereas on the platinum catalyst this is always near saturation under reaction conditions, causing a negative reaction order (−0.4) and a p_CO-independent selectivity, the amount of adsorbed CO on the gold particles (indicated by an IR band at ∼2110 cm⁻¹) strongly depends on the CO partial pressure. From the position of the IR band of CO adsorbed on Au/α-Fe₂O₃, the steady-state coverages on the Au surface are shown to be significantly below saturation, with an upper limit of approximately θ_CO=0.2. Low reactant surface concentrations on Au explain the positive reaction order with respect to p_CO (+0.55 at 80°C) as well as the observed decoupling of the CO and H₂ oxidation rates, which results in a loss of selectivity with decreasing p_CO.     

Comments on the Brazilian Proposal and contributions to global temperature increase with different climate responses—CO2 emissions due to fossil fuels,CO2 emissions due to land use change

This paper addresses the question of how to take into account the anthropogenic contribution to the increase of global temperature, instead of being restricted to the Carbon emissions adopted in the Kyoto Protocol on responsibility sharing. It is shown the sensibility of the results to the variation of the parameters from different authors used for simulating the climate response based in the so-called Brazilian Proposal (BP).It is also discussed the methodological and scientific aspects of the BP being discussed by an expert group coordinated by SBSTA/UNFCCC and results of energy sector and land use change contributions by groups of countries.