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Environmental Poverty from the lens of sustainable development and financial inclusion: Evaluating the importance of energy productivity and clean energy electricity

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  • Khan, Zeeshan
  • Zhu, Xufeng
  • Chatti, Walid

Abstract

This study aims to explore the impacts of sustainable development, energy productivity, financial inclusion, and clean energy electricity output on environmental poverty for fourteen OECD countries using data from 2004 to 2020. This study employed a novel indicator for sustainable development and constructed a nonparametric index for financial inclusion to cover the COP28 perspective. This study used non parametric tests, i.e., the method of moments quantile regression (MMQREG) and found that sustainable development, green finance, energy productivity, and eco-innovation coefficients are negative and decrease environmental poverty in the OECD countries. The effects of financial inclusion and environment-related taxes are positive for the linear term and negative for the nonlinear term effects on environmental poverty. The impacts of environmental regulation and clean electricity do not help reduce environmental poverty. In terms of policy implications, this study recommends increasing investment in green finance, encouraging financial inclusion, and promoting all the key dimensions of sustainable development that could be crucial for alleviating environmental poverty in these economies.

Suggested Citation

  • Khan, Zeeshan & Zhu, Xufeng & Chatti, Walid, 2025. "Environmental Poverty from the lens of sustainable development and financial inclusion: Evaluating the importance of energy productivity and clean energy electricity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:318:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225003160
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.134674
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