The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts

The detrimental effects of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) and ecological footprint (EF) on the ecosystems, climate change and global warming necessitate the adoption of various methods to ameliorate them. An insight into the root causes of CO2 and EF is fundamental for policy decisions on environmen...

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Main Authors: Kizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe, Hooi Hooi Lean, Sikiru Jimoh Babalola, Wai Ching Poon
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-11-01
Series:Energy Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484721014876
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author Kizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe
Hooi Hooi Lean
Sikiru Jimoh Babalola
Wai Ching Poon
author_facet Kizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe
Hooi Hooi Lean
Sikiru Jimoh Babalola
Wai Ching Poon
author_sort Kizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe
collection DOAJ
description The detrimental effects of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) and ecological footprint (EF) on the ecosystems, climate change and global warming necessitate the adoption of various methods to ameliorate them. An insight into the root causes of CO2 and EF is fundamental for policy decisions on environmental sustainability. Though some scholars have shown some drivers of CO2 and EF, the non-linear and moderating impacts of financial development (FIN) and urbanization (URB) in degrading the environment in Africa has not been thoroughly investigated. Consequently, the purpose of this research is to examine the non-linear roles of FIN and URB in degrading the environment with emphasis on CO2 and EF in a sample of 31 African nations. It also determines the roles of FIN and URB in moderating the environment-energy nexus It utilizes empirical techniques that accommodate cross-sectional dependency, endogeneity and heterogeneity. The main results indicate that URB has an inverted U-shaped effect on CO2 while FIN has a tenuous U-shaped impact. URB and EF have a U-shaped relationship albeit FIN has a tenuous non-linear impact on EF. Besides, URB plays a mitigating role in the connection between CO2 and energy use whereas FIN plays a detrimental role. Further analysis indicates that FIN cannot moderate the nexus between energy use and EF albeit URB does aggravates the relationship. This research underscores the roles of FIN and URB on the environment in Africa. It notes that the proxy used to measure environmental degradation matters in considering the roles of FIN and URB on environment. As a result, the environmental regulations and energy policies that ignore the roles of URB and FIN may impede the pursuit of sustainable environment and development.
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spelling doaj.art-b1d9e77d13d44374b3587e13450a20db2023-02-21T05:09:56ZengElsevierEnergy Reports2352-48472022-11-01816651677The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impactsKizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe0Hooi Hooi Lean1Sikiru Jimoh Babalola2Wai Ching Poon3Southampton Business School, University of Southampton Malaysia, MalaysiaEconomics Program, School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Malaysia; Correspondence to: School of Social Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 Gelugor, Penang, Malaysia.Department of Economics, Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola, NigeriaDepartment of Management and Humanities, Faculty of Science and Information Technology, UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS, 32610 Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malayia, MalaysiaThe detrimental effects of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) and ecological footprint (EF) on the ecosystems, climate change and global warming necessitate the adoption of various methods to ameliorate them. An insight into the root causes of CO2 and EF is fundamental for policy decisions on environmental sustainability. Though some scholars have shown some drivers of CO2 and EF, the non-linear and moderating impacts of financial development (FIN) and urbanization (URB) in degrading the environment in Africa has not been thoroughly investigated. Consequently, the purpose of this research is to examine the non-linear roles of FIN and URB in degrading the environment with emphasis on CO2 and EF in a sample of 31 African nations. It also determines the roles of FIN and URB in moderating the environment-energy nexus It utilizes empirical techniques that accommodate cross-sectional dependency, endogeneity and heterogeneity. The main results indicate that URB has an inverted U-shaped effect on CO2 while FIN has a tenuous U-shaped impact. URB and EF have a U-shaped relationship albeit FIN has a tenuous non-linear impact on EF. Besides, URB plays a mitigating role in the connection between CO2 and energy use whereas FIN plays a detrimental role. Further analysis indicates that FIN cannot moderate the nexus between energy use and EF albeit URB does aggravates the relationship. This research underscores the roles of FIN and URB on the environment in Africa. It notes that the proxy used to measure environmental degradation matters in considering the roles of FIN and URB on environment. As a result, the environmental regulations and energy policies that ignore the roles of URB and FIN may impede the pursuit of sustainable environment and development.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484721014876Environmental degradationFinancial developmentUrbanizationEnergy consumption
spellingShingle Kizito Uyi Ehigiamusoe
Hooi Hooi Lean
Sikiru Jimoh Babalola
Wai Ching Poon
The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts
Energy Reports
Environmental degradation
Financial development
Urbanization
Energy consumption
title The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts
title_full The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts
title_fullStr The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts
title_full_unstemmed The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts
title_short The roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in Africa: Unravelling non-linear and moderating impacts
title_sort roles of financial development and urbanization in degrading environment in africa unravelling non linear and moderating impacts
topic Environmental degradation
Financial development
Urbanization
Energy consumption
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352484721014876
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