IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jrpoli/v95y2024ics0301420724004665.html

What are the best alternatives for sustainability? A rationalization theme for natural resource depletion and technical innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Hong, Cencen
  • Liu, Nan
  • Zhang, Kai

Abstract

There has been a global upsurge in discussions about environmental sustainability. To fight climate change and attain long-term economic expansion, decreasing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is crucial. In addition, these issues take center stage in the Next 11 economies due to the scarcity and overexploitation of natural resources, leading to increased carbon emissions. Advancements in technology are essential to achieving sustainable development. Making technical advances is the only way to guarantee that economic growth at lower environmental cost. In this piece, we'll look at how technological progress and the exhaustion of natural resources have affected CO2 emissions. The research examines the interplay between digitization, human capital, and the rule of law, among other aspects. Researchers analyzed panel series data for the next 11 economies from 2003 to 2022. However, the current study utilizes robust estimators to obtain the desired objective of study. Investigated outcomes describe, digitalization, technical innovation, and human resources hurt sustainability level, although the rule of law and the depletion of natural resources have a beneficial effect. The selected and other rising economies may use the predicted findings to inform policy decisions on how to best go forward with sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Hong, Cencen & Liu, Nan & Zhang, Kai, 2024. "What are the best alternatives for sustainability? A rationalization theme for natural resource depletion and technical innovation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:95:y:2024:i:c:s0301420724004665
    DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.105099
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301420724004665
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.105099?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bennedsen, Mikkel & Hillebrand, Eric & Koopman, Siem Jan, 2021. "Modeling, forecasting, and nowcasting U.S. CO2 emissions using many macroeconomic predictors," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    2. Shah, Syed Ale Raza & Naqvi, Syed Asif Ali & Riaz, Sabahat & Anwar, Sofia & Abbas, Nasir, 2020. "Nexus of biomass energy, key determinants of economic development and environment: A fresh evidence from Asia," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Friedman, Nicola & Ormiston, Jarrod, 2022. "Blockchain as a sustainability-oriented innovation?: Opportunities for and resistance to Blockchain technology as a driver of sustainability in global food supply chains," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    4. Xu, Haitao & Yang, Chengying & Li, Xuetao & Liu, Ruiyu & Zhang, Yonghong, 2024. "How do fintech, digitalization, green technologies influence sustainable environment in CIVETS nations? An evidence from CUP FM and CUP BC approaches," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Li, Xinze & Zhang, Caiyun & Zhu, Huan, 2023. "Effect of information and communication technology on CO2 emissions: An analysis based on country heterogeneity perspective," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    6. Zhao, Bingyu & Yang, Wanping, 2020. "Does financial development influence CO2 emissions? A Chinese province-level study," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    7. Salisu, Afees A. & Isah, Kazeem O., 2017. "Revisiting the oil price and stock market nexus: A nonlinear Panel ARDL approach," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 258-271.
    8. Cai, Lu & Le, Thanh Tiep, 2023. "Natural resources and financial development: Role of corporate social responsibility on green economic growth in Vietnam," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    9. Xu, Jing & Hu, Weiwei, 2024. "How do external resources influence a firm's green innovation? A study based on absorptive capacity," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    10. Qiucheng Li & Jiang Hu & Bolin Yu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Patterns and Influencing Mechanism of Urban Residential Energy Consumption in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-17, June.
    11. Hu, Haisheng & Dong, Wanhao & Zhou, Qian, 2021. "A comparative study on the environmental and economic effects of a resource tax and carbon tax in China: Analysis based on the computable general equilibrium model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    12. Shah, Syed Ale Raza & Zhang, Qianxiao & Abbas, Jaffar & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Pilař, Ladislav, 2023. "Technology, Urbanization and Natural Gas Supply Matter for Carbon Neutrality: A New Evidence of Environmental Sustainability under the Prism of COP26," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    13. Muhammad Farhan Bashir & Benjiang MA & Muhammad Shahbaz & Zhilun Jiao, 2020. "The nexus between environmental tax and carbon emissions with the roles of environmental technology and financial development," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Wang, Yafei & Liao, Meng & Wang, Yafei & Xu, Lixiao & Malik, Arunima, 2021. "The impact of foreign direct investment on China's carbon emissions through energy intensity and emissions trading system," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    15. Zhao, Shuang & Zhang, Liqun & Peng, Lin & Zhou, Haiyan & Hu, Feng, 2024. "Enterprise pollution reduction through digital transformation? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Adams, Samuel & Adedoyin, Festus & Olaniran, Eniola & Bekun, Festus Victor, 2020. "Energy consumption, economic policy uncertainty and carbon emissions; causality evidence from resource rich economies," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 179-190.
    17. Pata, Ugur Korkut & Yilanci, Veli & Zhang, Qianxiao & Shah, Syed Ale Raza, 2022. "Does financial development promote renewable energy consumption in the USA? Evidence from the Fourier-wavelet quantile causality test," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 432-443.
    18. Min Shang & Ji Luo, 2021. "The Tapio Decoupling Principle and Key Strategies for Changing Factors of Chinese Urban Carbon Footprint Based on Cloud Computing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-17, February.
    19. Zhang, Zengkai & Guo, Ju'e & Hewings, Geoffrey J.D., 2014. "The effects of direct trade within China on regional and national CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 161-175.
    20. Zhang, Qianxiao & Shah, Syed Ale Raza & Yang, Ling, 2022. "Modeling the effect of disaggregated renewable energies on ecological footprint in E5 economies: Do economic growth and R&D matter?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    21. Nabila Abid & Jianzu Wu & Fayyaz Ahmad & Muhammad Umar Draz & Abbas Ali Chandio & Hui Xu, 2020. "Incorporating Environmental Pollution and Human Development in the Energy-Growth Nexus: A Novel Long Run Investigation for Pakistan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-22, July.
    22. Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Abbas, Jaffar & He, Chang & Pilař, Ladislav & Shah, Syed Ale Raza, 2023. "Tourism, urbanization and natural resources rents matter for environmental sustainability: The leading role of AI and ICT on sustainable development goals in the digital era," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    23. Z. Yu & S.A.R. Khan & P. Ponce & Ana Beatriz Lopes de Sousa Jabbour & C.J. Chiappetta Jabbour, 2022. "Factors Affecting Carbon Emissions in Emerging Economies in the Context of a Green Recovery: Implications for Sustainable Development Goals," Post-Print hal-04276072, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Waheed Ahmad & Rukhsana Kalim, 2024. "Analyzing Digital Economy¡¯s Role in Global Green Growth Opportunities: An Asymmetric MMQR Approach," Journal of Economic Sciences, Federal Urdu University Islamabad, Department of Economics, vol. 3(2), pages 162-180, December.
    2. Roman Meinhold & Christoph Wagner & Bablu Kumar Dhar, 2025. "Digital sustainability and eco‐environmental sustainability: A review of emerging technologies, resource challenges, and policy implications," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(2), pages 2323-2338, April.
    3. Wang, Xuanwen & Zhu, Lei & Zheng, Haitao, 2025. "The relationship between technical innovation and market value: Evidence from the China's new energy vehicles industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Feng, Xinzhen & Zhou, Dequn & Hussain, Tufail, 2024. "An investigation of fintech governance, natural resources and government stability on sustainability: Policy suggestions under the SDGs theme," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    2. Zou, Qizhi & Wu, Qian & Wang, Jia, 2024. "Is natural resources curse possible under the digitalization? A loon on top digitalized economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    3. Yasir Mehboob, Muhammad & Ma, Benjiang & Sadiq, Muhammad & Mehboob, Muhammad Basit, 2024. "How do nuclear energy consumption, environmental taxes, and trade globalization impact ecological footprints? Novel policy insight from nuclear power countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    4. Shiying Wang & Jaffar Abbas & Khalid Ibrahim Al-Sulati & Syed Ale Raza Shah, 2024. "The Impact of Economic Corridor and Tourism on Local Community's Quality of Life under One Belt One Road Context," Evaluation Review, , vol. 48(2), pages 312-345, April.
    5. Hafiz Salami & Kingsley Okpara & Chomsri Choochuay & Techato Kuaanan & David Akeju & Manasseh Shitta, 2025. "Domestic energy consumption, theories, and policies: a systematic review," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 5821-5867, March.
    6. Lin, Boqiang & Ullah, Sami, 2023. "Towards the goal of going green: Do green growth and innovation matter for environmental sustainability in Pakistan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    7. Muntazir Hussain & Ramiz Ur Rehman & Usman Bashir, 2024. "Environmental pollution, innovation, and financial development: an empirical investigation in selected industrialized countries using the panel ARDL approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29217-29248, November.
    8. Khalique, Abdul & Wang, Yichen & Ahmed, Khalid, 2025. "Europe's environmental dichotomy: The impact of regulations, climate investments, and renewable energy on carbon mitigation in the EU-22," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    9. Hunjra, Ahmed Imran & Bouri, Elie & Azam, Muhammad & Azam, Rauf I & Dai, Jiapeng, 2024. "Economic growth and environmental sustainability in developing economies," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 70(PA).
    10. Yuhong Tang & Muhammad Imran, 2026. "Trade‐offs and synergies: Examining the impact of natural resource rents and energy efficiency on financial development in the RCEP context," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 50(1), pages 225-246, February.
    11. Chen Han & Lu Yang, 2024. "Financing and Management Strategies for Expanding Green Development Projects: A Case Study of Energy Corporation in China’s Renewable Energy Sector Using Machine Learning (ML) Modeling," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-33, May.
    12. María Teresa García-Álvarez & Gustavo Pineiro-Villaverde & Isabel Soares, 2025. "Renewables, taxes and competitive markets: the role of energy policies on the EU’s sustainable energy consumption," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(10), pages 24225-24246, October.
    13. C. Vennila & Venkata Prasad Papana & Ch. Venkata Krishna Reddy & U. Arun Kumar, 2026. "ALSO-DCGNN: enhancing power quality and voltage regulation of energy storage systems in DC micro grid," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 7059-7083, March.
    14. Rasheed, Muhammad Qamar & Yuhuan, Zhao & Haseeb, Abdul & Ahmed, Zahoor & Saud, Shah, 2024. "Asymmetric relationship between competitive industrial performance, renewable energy, industrialization, and carbon footprint: Does artificial intelligence matter for environmental sustainability?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 367(C).
    15. Imane Elouardighi & Kenza Oubejja, 2023. "COVID‐19 and the fate of Moroccan female‐led firms: Regional level evidence," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 15(8), pages 1740-1767, October.
    16. Xiaoli Cai & Bo Zhou & Congcong Cai & Tianlong Pu & Qunwei Wang, 2025. "Impacts of decreasing subsidies for photovoltaic enterprises in China: a perspective from industrial chain segments," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(7), pages 15627-15648, July.
    17. Yanmin Shao, 2024. "Does excessive debt affect the green technology innovation? Evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(8), pages 19579-19596, August.
    18. Huan Liu, 2025. "The impact of city size and basic eldercare services on the disability risk of older adults: empirical evidence from 122 cities in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(8), pages 19491-19515, August.
    19. Soroush Safarzadeh & Morteza Rasti-Barzoki & Jörn Altmann & Ilkyeong Moon, 2024. "A game theoretic approach for tradable white certificates regarding energy rebound and government intervention," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(11), pages 29643-29676, November.
    20. Jianwei Xu & Shuxin Liu, 2024. "Current status, evolutionary path, and development trends of low-carbon technology innovation: a bibliometric analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 24151-24182, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:95:y:2024:i:c:s0301420724004665. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/30467 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.