Unleashing sustainability in uncertain times: Can we leverage economic complexity, uncertainty, and remittances to combat environmental degradation?

Sara Yasin; Yousef Damra; Mohamed Albaity; Ilhan Ozturk; Atif Awad

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121094

Unleashing sustainability in uncertain times: Can we leverage economic complexity, uncertainty, and remittances to combat environmental degradation?

J Environ Manage. 2024 May:359:121094. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121094. Epub 2024 May 9.

Authors

Sara Yasin¹, Yousef Damra², Mohamed Albaity³, Ilhan Ozturk⁴, Atif Awad⁵

Affiliations

¹ Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: syasin@sharjah.ac.ae.
² Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: ydamra@sharjah.ac.ae.
³ Department of Finance and Economics, College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: malbaity@sharjah.ac.ae.
⁴ College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates; Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Sciences, Nisantasi University, Istanbul, Turkey; Department of Medical Research, China Medical University Hospital, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan. Electronic address: iozturk@sharjah.ac.ae.
⁵ Department of Finance and Economics, College of Business Administration, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: aawoad@sharjah.ac.ae.

PMID: 38723506
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121094

Abstract

Rapid economic growth and human activities have seriously damaged the environment and hindered the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Hence, this study aims to explore the impact of economic complexity, uncertainty, and remittance on environmental degradation in 134 countries from 2000 to 2022. In addition, it examines whether uncertainty moderates the relationship between remittance and environmental degradation. Two proxies (ecological footprint and CO₂) were used to measure environmental degradation. The analysis was conducted using a cross-sectional dependency test, second-generation unit root test, and panel quantile regression. The results revealed that economic complexity significantly and positively impacted environmental degradation, while uncertainty and remittance significantly and negatively impacted environmental degradation. Furthermore, uncertainty weakened the negative relationship between remittance and environmental degradation. Accordingly, this paper discusses various recommendations and policy implications regarding economic complexity, uncertainty, remittance, and environmental degradation.

Keywords: CO(2) emissions; Ecological footprint; Economic complexity; Quantile regression; Remittance; Uncertainty.

MeSH terms

Conservation of Natural Resources*
Humans
Sustainable Development
Uncertainty