IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v37y2026i4p2255-2269.html

Assessing the power of biofuels and green technology innovation on the environment: The LCC perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Ugur Korkut Pata
  • Selin Karlilar Pata

Abstract

The global concerns over the climate crisis have led countries to reconsider their energy options, directing the focus of policymakers toward clean energy sources that can support a transition to a more sustainable future. Herein, biofuel energy, with its clean characteristics, has become a vital alternative to fossil fuels, paving the way for a sustainable environment. In this context, this study explores the impact of biofuel consumption and green technology (GT) innovation on the load capacity factor. To this end, the study applies the regularized common correlated estimation to panel data from the top five biofuel consumer countries over the period 2002–2021. The empirical outcomes reveal that (i) the load capacity curve (LCC) hypothesis is invalid; (ii) biofuels are essential elements of a sustainable energy system that ensure better access to eco-friendly energy and contribute to environmental quality; and (iii) innovation in GTs contributes to environmental quality. In light of the findings, the study reveals the essential role of biofuels and GT innovation on the path toward a greener future, and policymakers should consider the power of these factors in formulating environmental policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ugur Korkut Pata & Selin Karlilar Pata, 2026. "Assessing the power of biofuels and green technology innovation on the environment: The LCC perspective," Energy & Environment, , vol. 37(4), pages 2255-2269, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:37:y:2026:i:4:p:2255-2269
    DOI: 10.1177/0958305X241279905
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958305X241279905
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0958305X241279905?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yoon, Seong-Min, 2022. "On the interdependence between biofuel, fossil fuel and agricultural food prices: Evidence from quantile tests," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 536-545.
    2. Pata, Ugur Korkut & Kartal, Mustafa Tevfik & Erdogan, Sinan & Sarkodie, Samuel Asumadu, 2023. "The role of renewable and nuclear energy R&D expenditures and income on environmental quality in Germany: Scrutinizing the EKC and LCC hypotheses with smooth structural changes," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    3. Stern, David I., 2004. "The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 32(8), pages 1419-1439, August.
    4. Ma, Beiling & Sharif, Arshian & Bashir, Madiha & Bashir, Muhammad Farhan, 2023. "The dynamic influence of energy consumption, fiscal policy and green innovation on environmental degradation in BRICST economies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    5. Artūras Juodis, 2022. "A regularization approach to common correlated effects estimation," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 37(4), pages 788-810, June.
    6. Pata, Ugur Korkut & Ertugrul, Hasan Murat, 2023. "Do the Kyoto Protocol, geopolitical risks, human capital and natural resources affect the sustainability limit? A new environmental approach based on the LCC hypothesis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    8. Voumik, Liton Chandra & Ghosh, Smarnika & Rashid, Mamunur & Das, Mihir Kumar & Esquivias, Miguel Angel & Rojas, Omar, 2024. "The effect of geopolitical risk and green technology on load capacity factors in BRICS," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    9. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2021. "General diagnostic tests for cross-sectional dependence in panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 13-50, January.
    10. Erdogan, Sinan & Pata, Ugur Korkut & Solarin, Sakiru Adebola, 2023. "Towards carbon-neutral world: The effect of renewable energy investments and technologies in G7 countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    11. Chen, Chaoyi & Pinar, Mehmet & Stengos, Thanasis, 2022. "Renewable energy and CO2 emissions: New evidence with the panel threshold model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 117-128.
    12. Uche, Emmanuel & Ngepah, Nicholas & Das, Narasingha & Dey, Labani, 2024. "Dynamic interactions of green innovations, green transitions and ecological load capacity factor in BRICS," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    13. 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.
    14. Erdogan, Sinan, 2024. "On the impact of natural resources on environmental sustainability in African countries: A comparative approach based on the EKC and LCC hypotheses," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    15. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2006. "Estimation and Inference in Large Heterogeneous Panels with a Multifactor Error Structure," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 74(4), pages 967-1012, July.
    16. Bingjie Xu & Ruoyu Zhong & Hui Qiao, 2020. "The impact of biofuel consumption on CO2 emissions: A panel data analysis for seven selected G20 countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 31(8), pages 1498-1514, December.
    17. Zhang, Tong & Huang, Miao, 2024. "Does carbon taxation make biofuel consumption sustainable to achieve green recovery?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    18. Gong, Xue & Aslam, Muhammad Umar, 2024. "The role of natural resources, and economic development in evaluating the environmental effects of biofuel and waste energy generation in the group of BRICS," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 372(C).
    19. M. Hashem Pesaran & Aman Ullah & Takashi Yamagata, 2008. "A bias-adjusted LM test of error cross-section independence," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 11(1), pages 105-127, March.
    20. Yuriy Bilan & Yaryna Samusevych & Serhiy Lyeonov & Marcin Strzelec & Iryna Tenytska, 2022. "The Keys to Clean Energy Technology: Impact of Environmental Taxes on Biofuel Production and Consumption," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-22, December.
    21. Karlilar, Selin & Balcilar, Mehmet & Emir, Firat, 2023. "Environmental sustainability in the OECD: The power of digitalization, green innovation, renewable energy and financial development," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    22. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    23. Qiang Wang & Yuanfan Li & Rongrong Li, 2024. "Rethinking the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis across 214 countries: the impacts of 12 economic, institutional, technological, resource, and social factors," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    24. Ugur Korkut Pata & Banu Tanriover, 2023. "Is the Load Capacity Curve Hypothesis Valid for the Top Ten Tourism Destinations?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-15, January.
    25. Fang, Zhen & Wang, Tingdong & Yang, Can, 2024. "Nexus among natural resources, environmental sustainability, and political risk: Testing the load capacity factor curve hypothesis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(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. Aytun, Cengiz & Erdogan, Sinan & Pata, Ugur Korkut & Cengiz, Orhan, 2024. "Associating environmental quality, human capital, financial development and technological innovation in 19 middle-income countries: A disaggregated ecological footprint approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    2. Ugur Korkut Pata & Mustafa Tevfik Kartal, 2025. "Testing the ecological effect of wind and solar energy consumption: A novel regularized common correlated effect approach for top oil‐importing countries," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(2), pages 1754-1768, May.
    3. Hussein Moghaddam & Robert M. Kunst, 2023. "The Role of Natural Gas in Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis for Major Gas-Producing Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-20, February.
    4. Atef Alshehry & Mounir Belloumi, 2023. "The Symmetric and Asymmetric Impacts of Energy Consumption and Economic Growth on Environmental Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Hamid, Salman & Wang, Ke & Zhang, Xiang, 2026. "Unraveling the role of artificial intelligence, eco-innovation efficiency, and stringent environmental policies in environmental sustainability: Is the load capacity curve hypothesis true in G7 economies?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Buhari DOĞAN & Osman DEĞER, 2018. "The role of economic growth and energy consumption on CO2 emissions in E7 countries," Theoretical and Applied Economics, Asociatia Generala a Economistilor din Romania / Editura Economica, vol. 0(2(615), S), pages 231-246, Summer.
    7. Nurullah Altıntaş & Furkan Açıkgöz & Muhammet Yeniyurt, 2025. "Investigating the LCC hypothesis in the middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (Menat): evidence from second-generation panel techniques," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 7681-7700, March.
    8. Ozcan, Burcu, 2013. "The nexus between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Middle East countries: A panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1138-1147.
    9. Deniz Erenel & Halil Peçe & İlhan Bilici, 2026. "Does Women’s Political Participation Matter in Carbon Emissions Reduction? A Panel Data Analysis of BRICS-TM," SAGE Open, , vol. 16(1), pages 21582440251, January.
    10. Naib Alakbarov & Murat Gündüz & Mahmut Ünsal Şaşmaz, 2025. "Exploring the link between economic growth, energy consumption, and environmental pollution in G20," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 49(2), pages 1445-1461, May.
    11. Mustaqim Roshid, Md & Bhowmik, Reday Chandra & Dhar, Bablu Kumar & Islam, Sohidul & Sumon, Shaharier Arafat & Machado, Andreia de Bem, 2026. "Managing resource rents, trade openness, and energy transitions: Evidence on ecological load capacity from newly industrialized economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    12. Muhammad Shafiullah & Vassilios G. Papavassiliou & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2021. "Is There an Extended Education-Based Environmental Kuznets Curve? An Analysis of U.S. States," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(4), pages 795-819, December.
    13. Erdogan, Sinan, 2024. "On the impact of natural resources on environmental sustainability in African countries: A comparative approach based on the EKC and LCC hypotheses," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Djedaiet, Aissa & Ayad, Hicham & Ben-Salha, Ousama, 2024. "Oil prices and the load capacity factor in African oil-producing OPEC members: Modeling the symmetric and asymmetric effects," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    15. Sami Fethi & Elif Senyucel, 2021. "The role of tourism development on CO2 emission reduction in an extended version of the environmental Kuznets curve: evidence from top 50 tourist destination countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 1499-1524, February.
    16. Yılmaz Toktaş & Ali Altıner & Eda Bozkurt & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2025. "Assessing the EKC Hypothesis and the Impact of Environmental and Non-Environmental Goods Trade on Environmental Quality: Evidence from QRPD for OECD Countries," SAGE Open, , vol. 15(4), pages 21582440251, December.
    17. Ajanaku, B.A. & Collins, A.R., 2021. "Economic growth and deforestation in African countries: Is the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis applicable?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    18. Usman, Muhammad & Makhdum, Muhammad Sohail Amjad, 2021. "What abates ecological footprint in BRICS-T region? Exploring the influence of renewable energy, non-renewable energy, agriculture, forest area and financial development," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 12-28.
    19. Hicham Ayad & Aissa Djedaiet, 2026. "Does the unemployment rate matter for environmental issues in the G7 nations? New testing for the environmental Phillips curve using the load capacity factor," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 28(1), pages 187-217, January.
    20. Maha Kalai & Hamdi Becha & Kamel Helali, 2024. "Effect of artificial intelligence on economic growth in European countries: a symmetric and asymmetric cointegration based on linear and non-linear ARDL approach," Journal of Economic Structures, Springer;Pan-Pacific Association of Input-Output Studies (PAPAIOS), vol. 13(1), pages 1-37, December.

    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:sae:engenv:v:37:y:2026:i:4:p:2255-2269. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.