IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i13p5982-d1690521.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Path to Environmental Sustainability: How Circular Economy, Natural Capital, and Structural Economic Changes Shape Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Germany

Author

Listed:
  • Hanyu Chen

    (School of Intellectual Property, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Guanbing Zhao

    (School of Intellectual Property, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

  • Muhammad Ramzan

    (School of Finance and Economics, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang 212013, China)

Abstract

Environmental sustainability constitutes a strategic priority for Germany, with the circular economy serving a crucial function in its realization. Circular practices foster sustainable development by decreasing reliance on finite resources, minimizing waste, and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The circular economy provides ecological advantages and strengthens economic resilience through the promotion of innovation, enhancement of supply chain efficiency, and creation of green jobs. Complementary measures, including the preservation of natural capital, the enactment of structural economic reforms, and the implementation of environmental taxes, enhance sustainability objectives. Ecosystem conservation enhances carbon absorption, structural changes facilitate low-emission industries, and environmental taxes incorporate environmental costs. In contrast, industrial activity continues to be a significant contributor to GHG emissions, necessitating policy examination. This study analyzes the relationships between the circular economy, natural capital, structural change, environmental taxation, and industrial activities on GHG emissions in Germany from the first quarter of 2010 to the fourth quarter of 2022. The study employs wavelet coherence analysis (WCA), fully modified ordinary least squares (FMOLS), and dynamic ordinary least squares (DOLS), demonstrating that circular economy practices, natural capital, structural changes, and environmental taxes significantly reduce GHG emissions. Conversely, industrial activities continually elevate GHG emissions in Germany. Moreover, WCA further reveals the time–frequency dynamics and co-movement patterns between key variables and GHG emissions, enabling the detection of both short-term and long-term dependencies. The results indicate that enhancing environmental sustainability in Germany could be effectively achieved by mandating the integration of recycled materials within key industrial sectors to improve environmental sustainability, which would help lower resource extraction and related GHG emissions.

Suggested Citation

  • Hanyu Chen & Guanbing Zhao & Muhammad Ramzan, 2025. "The Path to Environmental Sustainability: How Circular Economy, Natural Capital, and Structural Economic Changes Shape Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-26, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5982-:d:1690521
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5982/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/13/5982/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Judith M. Dean, 2002. "Does trade liberalization harm the environment? A new test," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 35(4), pages 819-842, November.
    2. Savona, Maria & Ciarli, Tommaso, 2019. "Structural Changes and Sustainability. A Selected Review of the Empirical Evidence," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 244-260.
    3. Doğan, Buhari & Chu, Lan Khanh & Ghosh, Sudeshna & Diep Truong, Huong Hoang & Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel, 2022. "How environmental taxes and carbon emissions are related in the G7 economies?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C), pages 645-656.
    4. Grossman, G.M & Krueger, A.B., 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," Papers 158, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    5. Johansen, Soren & Juselius, Katarina, 1990. "Maximum Likelihood Estimation and Inference on Cointegration--With Applications to the Demand for Money," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 52(2), pages 169-210, May.
    6. Dervis Kirikkaleli & Minhaj Ali, 2024. "Resource efficiency, energy productivity, and environmental sustainability in Germany," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(5), pages 13139-13158, May.
    7. Costanza, Robert & d'Arge, Ralph & de Groot, Rudolf & Farber, Stephen & Grasso, Monica & Hannon, Bruce & Limburg, Karin & Naeem, Shahid & O'Neill, Robert V. & Paruelo, Jose, 1998. "The value of the world's ecosystem services and natural capital," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 25(1), pages 3-15, April.
    8. Mohajan, Haradhan, 2021. "Germany is Ahead to Implement Sustainable Circular Economy," MPRA Paper 108566, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Jun 2021.
    9. Joanicjusz Nazarko & Ewa Chodakowska & Łukasz Nazarko, 2022. "Evaluating the Transition of the European Union Member States towards a Circular Economy," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-24, May.
    10. Li, Rongrong & Wang, Qiang & Wang, Xuefeng & Zhou, Yulin & Han, Xinyu & Liu, Yi, 2022. "Germany's contribution to global carbon reduction might be underestimated – A new assessment based on scenario analysis with and without trade," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    11. Heri Bezić & Davor Mance & Davorin Balaž, 2022. "Panel Evidence from EU Countries on CO 2 Emission Indicators during the Fourth Industrial Revolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-25, October.
    12. Babatunde Sunday Eweade & Ada Chigozie Akadiri & Kehinde O. Olusoga & Ruth Oluyemi Bamidele, 2024. "The symbiotic effects of energy consumption, globalization, and combustible renewables and waste on ecological footprint in the United Kingdom," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 48(1), pages 274-291, February.
    13. Marra, Alessandro & Colantonio, Emiliano & Cucculelli, Marco & Nissi, Eugenia, 2024. "The ‘complex’ transition: Energy intensity and CO2 emissions amidst technological and structural shifts. Evidence from OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    14. Benjamin Brown & Samuel J. Spiegel, 2019. "Coal, Climate Justice, and the Cultural Politics of Energy Transition," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(2), pages 149-168, May.
    15. Johansen, Soren, 1995. "Likelihood-Based Inference in Cointegrated Vector Autoregressive Models," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198774501, Decembrie.
    16. Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Seun Damola Oladipupo & Husam Rjoub & Dervis Kirikkaleli & Ibrahim Adeshola, 2023. "Asymmetric effect of structural change and renewable energy consumption on carbon emissions: designing an SDG framework for Turkey," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 528-556, January.
    17. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Siddiqui, Aaliyah & Ahmad, Shabbir & Jiao, Zhilun, 2023. "Financial development as a new determinant of energy diversification: The role of natural capital and structural changes in Australia," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Baek, Jungho & Cho, Yongsung & Koo, Won W., 2009. "The environmental consequences of globalization: A country-specific time-series analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(8-9), pages 2255-2264, June.
    2. C. Seri & A. de Juan Fernández, 2023. "CO2 emissions and income growth in Latin America: long-term patterns and determinants," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(5), pages 4491-4524, May.
    3. Juan P. Chousa, & Artur Tamazian & Krishna Chaitanya Vadlamannati, 2008. "Rapid Economic Growth At The Cost Of Environment Degradation? ??? Panel Data Evidience From Bric Economies," William Davidson Institute Working Papers Series wp908, William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
    4. Anna Borucka & Sebastian Sobczuk, 2025. "Analysis of the Relationship Between Energy Consumption in Transport, Carbon Dioxide Emissions and State Revenues: The Case of Poland," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-28, April.
    5. Muhammad Shahbaz, 2022. "Globalization–Emissions Nexus: Testing the EKC Hypothesis in Next-11 Countries," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 23(1), pages 75-100, February.
    6. Shahbaz, Muhammad, 2019. "Globalization-Emissions Nexus: Testing the EKC hypothesis in Next-11 Countries," MPRA Paper 93959, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 13 May 2019.
    7. Tijjani Musa Adamu & Ihtisham ul Haq & Muhammad Shafiq, 2019. "Analyzing the Impact of Energy, Export Variety, and FDI on Environmental Degradation in the Context of Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Case Study of India," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, March.
    8. Kohler, Marcel, 2013. "CO2 emissions, energy consumption, income and foreign trade: A South African perspective," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1042-1050.
    9. Levent, Korap, 2007. "Modeling purchasing power parity using co-integration: evidence from Turkey," MPRA Paper 19584, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Christian Schoder, 2012. "Effective demand, exogenous normal utilization and endogenous capacity in the long run. Evidence from a CVAR analysis for the US," IMK Working Paper 103-2012, IMK at the Hans Boeckler Foundation, Macroeconomic Policy Institute.
    11. Ali MNA & Moheddine YOUNSI, 2018. "A monetary conditions index and its application on Tunisian economic forecasting," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 38-56, March.
    12. Franses, Ph.H.B.F. & Paap, R., 1999. "Forecasting with periodic autoregressive time series models," Econometric Institute Research Papers EI 9927-/A, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Erasmus School of Economics (ESE), Econometric Institute.
    13. Hauser, Shmuel & Kedar-Levy, Haim & Milo, Orit, 2022. "Price discovery during parallel stocks and options preopening: Information distortion and hints of manipulation," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 59(PA).
    14. Brittle, Shane, 2009. "Ricardian Equivalence and the Efficacy of Fiscal Policy in Australia," Economics Working Papers wp09-10, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    15. Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee & Worawat Sa-Ngiamvibool & Buncha Wattana & Jianhui Luo & Supannika Wattana, 2025. "Enhancing Sustainable Strategic Governance for Energy-Consumption Reduction Towards Carbon Neutrality in the Energy and Transportation Sectors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(6), pages 1-24, March.
    16. Fabian Knorre & Martin Wagner & Maximilian Grupe, 2021. "Monitoring Cointegrating Polynomial Regressions: Theory and Application to the Environmental Kuznets Curves for Carbon and Sulfur Dioxide Emissions," Econometrics, MDPI, vol. 9(1), pages 1-35, March.
    17. Tang, Chor Foon & Tan, Eu Chye, 2015. "Does tourism effectively stimulate Malaysia's economic growth?," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 158-163.
    18. Carmen van der Merwe & Martin de Wit, 2021. "An In-Depth Investigation into the Relationship Between Municipal Solid Waste Generation and Economic Growth in the City of Cape Town," Working Papers 07/2021, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics, revised 2021.
    19. Kuikeu, Oscar, 2011. "Arguments contre la zone franc [Against the cfa franc zone]," MPRA Paper 33710, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    20. Neil R. Ericsson, 2021. "Dynamic Econometrics in Action: A Biography of David F. Hendry," International Finance Discussion Papers 1311, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:13:p:5982-:d:1690521. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.