IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/minecn/v38y2025i1d10.1007_s13563-024-00465-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The importance of settling geopolitical disputes in neutralizing the carbon curse of natural resources: evidence from South and Southeast Asia

Author

Listed:
  • Muntasir Murshed

    (North South University
    Daffodil International Univeristy
    Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS))

  • A. K. M. Atiqur Rahman

    (North South University)

Abstract

Although natural resources are crucial inputs for fostering economic growth, the environmental curse of natural resources cannot be overlooked. Notably, utilization of unclean natural resources often has risks of triggering higher carbon emissions; thus, making economic outputs more carbon-intensive and carbon sequestration more difficult. Hence, considering the importance of geopolitical dispute settlement to gradually reduce natural resources reliance and thereby de-curse the environment, this study chose nine South and Southeast Asian nations to examine whether developing sound geopolitical relationships can help to reduce the carbon curse of natural resources. Considering data from 1984 to 2018 for analytical purposes, it is found that natural resource utilization, especially coal, oil, and forest resources, worsens the carbon curse situation, especially in Southeast Asian countries. On the other hand, settling geopolitical disputes is identified as a potential means for reducing the carbon curse for both South and Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, simultaneously resolving geopolitical issues and utilizing more natural resources are found to jointly de-curse the carbon curse. Notably, the results confirm the role of geopolitical dispute settlement as a moderator which partially lessens the carbon curse associated with more use of natural resources. However, such joint de-cursing impacts are heterogeneous across different types of natural resources. Nevertheless, the results collectively endorse that settlement of geopolitical disputes helps to reduce carbon emissions, thus, making economic outputs across South and Southeast Asia less carbon-intensive. Accordingly, relevant geopolitical relationship-building policies are recommended for low-carbon transformation of natural resource-based sectors in South and Southeast Asia.

Suggested Citation

  • Muntasir Murshed & A. K. M. Atiqur Rahman, 2025. "The importance of settling geopolitical disputes in neutralizing the carbon curse of natural resources: evidence from South and Southeast Asia," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 38(1), pages 143-158, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:minecn:v:38:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s13563-024-00465-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s13563-024-00465-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13563-024-00465-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s13563-024-00465-8?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 search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Natnaporn Aeknarajindawat & Boonsri Suteerachai & Pornkul Suksod, 2020. "The Impact of Natural Resources, Renewable Energy, Economic Growth on Carbon Dioxide Emission in Malaysia," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(3), pages 211-218.
    2. Chiroleu-Assouline, Mireille & Fodha, Mouez & Kirat, Yassine, 2020. "Carbon curse in developed countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    3. Wang, Kun & Rehman, Mubeen Abdur & Fahad, Shah & Linzhao, Zeng, 2023. "Unleashing the influence of natural resources, sustainable energy and human capital on consumption-based carbon emissions in G-7 Countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    4. Majeed, Abdul & Wang, Lijun & Zhang, Xiaohui & Muniba, & Kirikkaleli, Dervis, 2021. "Modeling the dynamic links among natural resources, economic globalization, disaggregated energy consumption, and environmental quality: Fresh evidence from GCC economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(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. Uche, Emmanuel & Ngepah, Nicholas & Cifuentes-Faura, Javier, 2023. "Upholding the green agenda of COP27 through publicly funded R&D on energy efficiencies, renewables, nuclear and power storage technologies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    7. Huda, Mirza Sadaqat & McDonald, Matt, 2016. "Regional cooperation on energy in South Asia: Unraveling the political challenges in implementing transnational pipelines and electricity grids," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 73-83.
    8. Joakim Westerlund, 2007. "Testing for Error Correction in Panel Data," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 69(6), pages 709-748, December.
    9. Herwartz, H. & Siedenburg, F., 2008. "Homogenous panel unit root tests under cross sectional dependence: Finite sample modifications and the wild bootstrap," Computational Statistics & Data Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 137-150, September.
    10. Chen, Limei & Gozgor, Giray & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Pal, Shreya & Rather, Kashif Nesar, 2023. "How does geopolitical risk affect CO2 emissions? The role of natural resource rents," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(PB).
    11. Huang, Yongming & Raza, Syed Muhammad Faraz & Hanif, Imran & Alharthi, Majed & Abbas, Qaiser & Zain-ul-Abidin, Syed, 2020. "The role of forest resources, mineral resources, and oil extraction in economic progress of developing Asian economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    12. Agboola, Mary Oluwatoyin & Bekun, Festus Victor & Joshua, Udi, 2021. "Pathway to environmental sustainability: Nexus between economic growth, energy consumption, CO2 emission, oil rent and total natural resources rent in Saudi Arabia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    13. Doğan, Buhari & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Bashir, Muhammad Farhan & Abbas, Shujaat & Ghosh, Sudeshna, 2023. "Formulating energy security strategies for a sustainable environment: Evidence from the newly industrialized economies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    14. Seung C. Ahn & Alex R. Horenstein, 2013. "Eigenvalue Ratio Test for the Number of Factors," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(3), pages 1203-1227, May.
    15. Sinha, Avik & Sengupta, Tuhin & Alvarado, Rafael, 2020. "Interplay between Technological Innovation and Environmental Quality: Formulating the SDG Policies for Next 11 Economies," MPRA Paper 104247, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    16. Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rej, Soumen & Awan, Ashar & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Islam, Md Sayemul & Das, Narasingha & Hossain, Md Emran, 2023. "Natural resource dependency and environmental sustainability under N-shaped EKC: The curious case of India," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    17. Nguyen, Tran Thai Ha & Tu, Yu-Te & Diep, Gia Luat & Tran, Trung Kien & Tien, Nguyen Hoang & Chien, FengSheng, 2023. "Impact of natural resources extraction and energy consumption on the environmental sustainability in ASEAN countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    18. Khalid M. Kisswani & Michel Zaitouni, 2023. "Does FDI affect environmental degradation? Examining pollution haven and pollution halo hypotheses using ARDL modelling," Journal of the Asia Pacific Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(4), pages 1406-1432, October.
    19. Blomquist, Johan & Westerlund, Joakim, 2013. "Testing slope homogeneity in large panels with serial correlation," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 121(3), pages 374-378.
    20. Chiu, Yi-Bin & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2020. "Effects of financial development on energy consumption: The role of country risks," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    21. Shaobin, Guo & Ahmad, Khalil & Khan, Naqib Ullah, 2024. "Natural resources, geopolitical conflicts, and digital trade: Evidence from China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    22. Dina Azhgaliyeva & Anant Kapoor & Yang Liu, 2020. "Green bonds for financing renewable energy and energy efficiency in South-East Asia: a review of policies," Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 10(2), pages 113-140, April.
    23. Zhou, Haonan & Li, Dongxin & Mustafa, Faisal & Altuntaş, Mehmet, 2022. "Natural resources volatility and South Asian economies: Evaluating the role of COVID-19," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    24. Vakulchuk, Roman & Overland, Indra & Scholten, Daniel, 2020. "Renewable energy and geopolitics: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    25. Sidi Mohammed Chekouri, 2023. "Natural resource abundance and income inequality: a case study of Algeria," International Journal of Development Issues, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 22(3), pages 325-344, June.
    26. Ding, Tao & Li, Hao & Tan, Ruipeng & Zhao, Xin, 2023. "How does geopolitical risk affect carbon emissions?: An empirical study from the perspective of mineral resources extraction in OECD countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    27. Mucahit Aydin & Tunahan Degirmenci, 2024. "The impact of clean energy consumption, green innovation, and technological diffusion on environmental sustainability: New evidence from load capacity curve hypothesis for 10 European Union countries," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2358-2370, June.
    28. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Topcu, Betül Altay & Sarıgül, Sevgi Sümerli & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2021. "The effect of financial development on renewable energy demand: The case of developing countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 178(C), pages 1370-1380.
    29. Li, Xuelin & Yang, Lin, 2023. "Natural resources, remittances and carbon emissions: A Dutch Disease perspective with remittances for South Asia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    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. Liu, Haiying & Saleem, Muhammad Mansoor & Al-Faryan, Mamdouh Abdulaziz Saleh & Khan, Irfan & Zafar, Muhammad Wasif, 2022. "Impact of governance and globalization on natural resources volatility: The role of financial development in the Middle East North Africa countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Bashir, Muhammad Farhan & Pata, Ugur Korkut & Shahzad, Luqman, 2025. "Linking climate change, energy transition and renewable energy investments to combat energy security risks: Evidence from top energy consuming economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    3. Alvarado, Rafael & Deng, Qiushi & Tillaguango, Brayan & Méndez, Priscila & Bravo, Diana & Chamba, José & Alvarado-Lopez, María & Ahmad, Munir, 2021. "Do economic development and human capital decrease non-renewable energy consumption? Evidence for OECD countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(PB).
    4. 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).
    5. Lin, Tsung-Xian & Gozgor, Giray & Rather, Kashif Nesar & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar & Lau, Chi Keung Marco, 2024. "How do natural resource rents and productive capacity affect carbon emissions? Evidence from developed and developing countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Murshed, Muntasir & Apergis, Nicholas & Alam, Md Shabbir & Khan, Uzma & Mahmud, Sakib, 2022. "The impacts of renewable energy, financial inclusivity, globalization, economic growth, and urbanization on carbon productivity: Evidence from net moderation and mediation effects of energy efficiency," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C), pages 824-838.
    7. Javed, Hasnain & Du, Jianguo & Iqbal, Shuja & Nassani, Abdelmohsen A. & Basheer, Muhammad Farhan, 2024. "The impact of mineral resource abundance on environmental degradation in ten mineral- rich countries: Do the green innovation and financial technology matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    8. Gu, Xiaoya & Baig, Imran Ali & Shoaib, Muhammad & Zhang, Shuo, 2024. "Examining the natural resources-ecological degradation nexus: The role of energy innovation and human capital in BRICST nations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    9. Guan, Zepeng & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Sheikh, Muhammad Ramzan & Khan, Zeeshan & Gu, Xiao, 2023. "Unveiling the interconnectedness between energy-related GHGs and pro-environmental energy technology: Lessons from G-7 economies with MMQR approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    10. De Vos, Ignace & Stauskas, Ovidijus, 2024. "Cross-section bootstrap for CCE regressions," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 240(1).
    11. Muntasir Murshed, 2025. "The relevance of scaling technological innovation finances for evading the carbon curse of mineral resources: Insights from Latin America and the Caribbean," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 38(1), pages 159-175, March.
    12. 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).
    13. Zhou, Rong & Su, Kaihua & Zheng, Li, 2022. "Natural resources led growth and the role of financial development: Evidence from Next-11 economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    14. Alvarado, Rafael & Tillaguango, Brayan & Murshed, Muntasir & Ochoa-Moreno, Santiago & Rehman, Abdul & Işık, Cem & Alvarado-Espejo, Johana, 2022. "Impact of the informal economy on the ecological footprint: The role of urban concentration and globalization," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 750-767.
    15. Zhou, Hui & Awosusi, Abraham Ayobamiji & Dagar, Vishal & Zhu, Guohua & Abbas, Shujaat, 2023. "Unleashing the asymmetric effect of natural resources abundance on carbon emissions in regional comprehensive economic partnership: What role do economic globalization and disaggregating energy play?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    16. Piana Monsur Mindia & Md Qamruzzaman & Nusrat Farzana, 2024. "Exploring the Impact of Good Governance and Innovation on Export Earnings, Clean Energy, Remittances, and Zero Carbon Emissions in Sub-Saharan African Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 14(4), pages 265-284, July.
    17. Liu, Meihan & Baisheng, Shi & Alharthi, Majed & Hassan, Muhammad Shahid & Hanif, Imran, 2023. "The role of natural resources, clean energy and technology in mitigating carbon emissions in top populated countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    18. Le Clech, Néstor A., 2024. "Policy market orientation, property rights, and corruption effects on the rent of non-renewable resources in Latin America and the Caribbean," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Wang Xing & Ali Imran, 2025. "Financial and Technological Drivers of Sustainable Development: The Role of Communication Technology, Financial Efficiency and Education in BRICS," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-26, March.
    20. Qiang Wang & Siqi Zhang & Rongrong Li, 2024. "Impact of risk factors on the link between natural resources rents and carbon emissions: Evidence from economic, financial, and political risks," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.

    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:spr:minecn:v:38:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s13563-024-00465-8. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.