Aug 2026· VNU University of Economics and Business· Vol 6· 0 citations
Abstract
Developing countries are heavily reliant on foreign direct investment (FDI) and digital transformation to sustain economic growth and improve productivity. However, these growth drivers may also intensify environmental pressure when they are supported by fossil-fuel-based energy systems. Consequently, the literature on the FDI-CO2 emissions remain inconclusive which necessitates further evidence. By employing an annual panel of 28 developing countries over the period 2000-2022, this study aims to comprehensively evaluate the main factors driving or mitigating CO2 emissions. Empirical results show that energy consumption is the most consistent driver of CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, FDI and digital transformation show positive but statistically insignificant effects in the baseline model, suggesting that their environmental impacts are contextdependent rather than uniform. Moreover, the robustness analysis indicates that renewable energy is negatively associated with CO2 emissions. Overall, the findings suggest that developing countries should place energy transition at the centre of sustainable development strategies. In particular, policymakers should improve energy efficiency, expand renewable energy, attract cleaner FDI and align digital transformation with low-carbon energy planning.
This study examines the impact of digital transformation on the environmental dimension of sustainable development in six Southeast Asian countries over the period 2002–2022. Environmental sustainability is proxied by consumption-based CO₂ emissions per capita, with government effectiveness examined as a moderating factor. Using panel data, the study applies the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) to capture heterogeneous effects across emission levels, while bootstrap quantile regression (BSQ) is employed as a robustness check. The results show that digital transformation significantly reduces emissions across all quantiles, with stronger mitigation effects observed at higher emission levels, indicating greater environmental benefits in carbon-intensive economies. However, government effectiveness weakens this emission-reducing effect. This implies that the environmental impact of digital transformation depends on institutional quality and highlights the need to align digital strategies with environmental governance to achieve sustainable emission reductions.
Sang The Bui, P. Tran· Tạp chí Khoa học Đại học Côn...· 0 citations
Foreign direct investment (FDI) plays an important role in economic development, energy demand, renewable-energy transition, and environmental quality. However, existing evidence remains fragmented and contradictory, particularly regarding whether FDI supports cleaner production through the Pollution Halo effect or increases environmental pressure through the Pollution Haven effect. This systematic literature review synthesizes 86 peer-reviewed studies on the nexus between FDI, CO2 emissions, energy use, renewable energy, and macroeconomic indicators. Following a PRISMA-based procedure, the review organizes the literature into three themes: FDI-Energy and Renewable Transition, FDI-Environment, and FDI-Macroeconomic and Institutional Determinants. The findings show that FDI is more consistently associated with higher energy consumption and energy intensity than with renewable-energy transition. In the environmental literature, both Pollution Haven and Pollution Halo evidence are found, but the direction of effect depends on income level, institutional quality, energy structure, renewable-energy policy, and technological capability. The review further shows that ARDL-type models, panel cointegration, and GMM approaches dominate the literature, while nonlinear, threshold, quantile, and moderator-based approaches remain underused. The study contributes by developing a conditional framework explaining when FDI is likely to worsen environmental degradation or support low-carbon development. Policy implications highlight the need to align FDI with renewable energy, green technology, financial development, and regulatory quality.
E. M. B. Alorf, Suziana Hassan, Abdul Hafizh Mohd Azam et al.· Discover Environment· 0 citations
CO₂ emissions remain a major challenge to Malaysia’s sustainable development and transition toward a green economy. This study examines the determinants of CO₂ emissions in Malaysia from 1990–2024, focusing on GDP, energy consumption, and trade (imports and exports of goods and services). Guided by the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework, the study investigates the long-run effects of these variables on environmental quality. Using annual data from the World Bank and econometric techniques including the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Akaike Information Criterion (AIC), cointegration, and regression analyses, the findings show that GDP, energy consumption, and imports significantly increase CO₂ emissions, supporting the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis. Exports exhibit mixed effects, with stronger impacts at higher emission levels, while energy consumption acts as a key channel through which trade influences environmental degradation. The results highlight the need for green economy strategies that promote energy efficiency and sustainable trade practices to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation. Despite being limited to data available up to 2024, the study provides valuable evidence for policymakers seeking to align Malaysia’s economic and trade objectives with international carbon reduction commitments.
Nur Raudhah Zakaria, S. A. Jalil, Leylawati Joremi et al.· Quantum Journal of Social Sc...· 0 citations
In today's world, sustainability strategies play a critical role in the transformation of global economies and industries. Green Economic Growth (GEG), which prioritizes environmental factors, is gaining increasing importance. Financial and green innovation are identified as the main driving forces behind GEG. However, research on the effects of these factors in OECD countries remains limited, and existing findings often show inconsistencies regarding the direction and magnitude of these effects. This study aims to comprehensively examine the impact of financial and green innovation on GEG in OECD countries. Using annual data from 15 OECD countries for the period 1996–2021, panel data techniques are applied. Cointegration tests are conducted to determine the presence of long-run relationships among the variables. Subsequently, long-run coefficients are estimated using the panel quantile regression method. The robustness of the findings is tested through OLS and fixed effects models. Additionally, causality tests are employed to explore the directional relationships between the variables. The results indicate that green innovation has a positive long-run effect on GEG, whereas financial innovation exerts a negative impact. Causality tests reveal bidirectional relationships among all variables. Policy recommendations include the promotion of green bonds and sustainable finance instruments, support for green investments through regulations that take environmental risks into account, and the expansion of access to green projects via technologies such as blockchain-based carbon markets. This research provides valuable insights for policymakers in designing more effective strategies to foster sustainable economic growth.
H. G. Diler, Münevver Yildiz, N. Vurur et al.· Tesam akademi dergisi· 0 citations
The E-7 economies "Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, and Türkiye" are now major engines of global growth, but this growth is placing heavy pressure on nature. A central policy question is therefore simple but urgent: which green tools actually help fast-growing economies stay within ecological limits? Existing evidence remains unclear because many studies focus only on carbon emissions and overlook how innovation, taxation, regulation, and foreign investment interact over time. Here, we address this gap by using the load capacity factor, a broader measure that compares human demand with nature's ability to regenerate. Using annual data from 1995 to 2023 and a GMM-PVAR model, we examine the dynamic effects of green innovation, environmental taxation, environmental policy stringency, and green foreign direct investment on environmental sustainability in the E-7. The results show that green innovation and green foreign direct investment improve ecological balance, suggesting that clean technology and green capital are central to sustainable transition. Environmental taxation also has a positive effect, but its role appears to depend on credible implementation. In contrast, stricter environmental policy shows a negative effect, indicating that regulation may fail or even backfire when enforcement capacity, institutional quality, or local acceptance is weak. Granger-causality and stability tests further support the dynamic links among these factors. These findings shift the policy message from simply imposing more rules to building stronger green innovation systems, attracting cleaner foreign investment, and improving policy delivery. For emerging economies, sustainability is not achieved by regulation alone; it requires turning green technology and clean capital into the core of development.
Shahid Ali, S. T. Hassan, Yu-Shu Kuang et al.· Scientific Reports· 0 citations
This study reveals the impact of GDP per capita, trade openness, renewable energy and technology on financial development in the world's most developed countries for the period of 1990-2021. In this context, this study especially focused on whether environmental technologies and renewable energy support financial development. Driscoll-Kraay Panel regression analysis is used to estimate panel data in this study. In addition, panel quantile regression analysis is performed to determine the coefficients of the variables at different quantile. The long-run results are authenticated using panel fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS), dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) and canonical cointegration regression (CCR). It is concluded that increases in renewable energy consumption and environment-related technology reduce financial development in the long-run. Although many studies found that financial development has positive effects on renewable energy consumption, the feedback effect is negatively in G7 countries to current study. In other words, policy incentives should be provided to return the productive resources created by financial instruments used in renewable energy investments back to the financial system and balance financial growth between environmental sustainability. The results suggest that financial markets should be regulated to obtain the positive effects of environmentally friendly investments. In this respect, this study signals that we have entered a period in which financial markets need to be reorganized.
Gülbahar Atasever· Environmental Research and T...· 0 citations
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