Revisiting the environmental Kuznets curve: evidence from Turkey

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper uncovers the link between economic development and environmental degradation in Turkey by employing two distinct methods. We test the...     

Exploring the existence of aviation Kuznets curve in the context of environmental pollution for OECD nations

Environment, Development and Sustainability - Environmental degradation has put significant consequences at both the national and global levels. Economic development and ecological sustainability...     

A test of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) for carbon emission and potential of renewable energy to reduce green house gases (GHG) in Malaysia

This study investigates the presence of environmental kuznets curve (EKC) for green house gases (GHG) measured by CO₂ emission in Malaysia for the period 1970 to 2011. The study also examines the potential of the renewable source of energy to contain GHG. The long-run significant positive coefficient of GDP indicates that the GHG are increasing with economic growth while the insignificant coefficient on GDP square rejects the EKC transition. These results indicate a high GDP level for the EKC turning point for Malaysia. Therefore, it can be stated that only economic growth cannot reverse the environmental degradation in Malaysia. The government should have to come up with some policy measures to achieve CO₂ emission reduction targets that Malaysia has pledged to achieve in Paris Submit (2015). The renewable energy production is found to have significant negative effect on CO₂ emission. So government should focus on the renewable source of energy production and should frame a special policy for renewable energy production.     

Sisters in sustainability: municipal partnerships for social,environmental, and economic growth

While debates about sustainable development tend to focus on national- and international-scale problems, sustainability programs and research generally focus on the regional, county, municipal, or even household level. Less research has focused on evaluating the benefits of pairing two cities (i.e., sister city partnerships) with different needs and capabilities to jointly enhance the potential for sustainable practices between the cities. Given shrinking state and federal budgets and the nascent national climate policy, how might US cities use existing resources to achieve greater levels of sustainability? This paper presents a new data-driven mathematical tool—the partnership assessment for intra-regional sustainability—that city planners can use to explore the prospects for improving sustainability practices by leveraging existing resources and establishing synergistic partnerships with neighboring cities. The efficacy of the tool is assessed through the presentation of a Southern California case study and the results of a psychological survey of Southern California residents. Results indicate that cities of different size and scale would benefit from synergistic sustainability programs that pool the resources and needs of both cities. The paper concludes with a discussion of potential societal implications, methodological issues, and barriers to implementation.     

Population and development: impacts on environmental performance

Population growth and development patterns have a significant impact on the environmental performance. The issue of concern is whether population growth or the consumption/production patterns are responsible for environmental deterioration. This paper is an attempt to capture the impact of technological development, affluence, and population on environmental performance index, while previous studies had captured the impact of these three factors on environment only through CO₂ emissions. The analysis reveals that technological development and population size have a negative impact on environmental performance, whereas measures to improve affluence have a positive impact. Technological development has increased the production of energy efficient products but at the same time consumption of these products has increased manifold leading to environmental deterioration. Demographic attributes need specific attention to improve environmental performance. This paper concludes on some policy reflections on slowing the population growth as well as persuades individuals and economies to relook to their consumption and production patterns and channelize their efforts to protect the environment.     

经济发展与环境污染脱钩理论及EKC假说的关系——兼论中国地级城市的脱钩划分

脱钩理论与EKC假说,两者都描述了经济发展与环境污染之间的动态关系,其中,脱钩理论揭示了经济发展与环境压力是否同步变化的关联,而EKC假说先于脱钩理论出现,并阐述了环境污染随着经济发展水平呈现出的非线性关系。本研究基于脱钩理论与EKC假说的理论内涵,首先通过数理模型的推导,得到了二者的内在联系,并运用一阶差分GMM方法对此进行实证检验。基于数理分析和一阶差分GMM估计的实证结果显示,脱钩理论与EKC假说均呈现出先上升后下降的倒"U"型曲线特征,且相对脱钩与绝对脱钩的临界点正好对应于EKC的拐点。其次,结合二者的关联,本研究将人均GDP水平加入脱钩类型的判定标准,在传统脱钩状态分类的基础上,以EKC拐点处所对应的人均GDP水平,以及数值为0.8的脱钩弹性系数为两条分界线,进一步将城市的经济发展与环境污染脱钩关系类型划分为6种形态,分别为"高收入未脱钩"、"低收入未脱钩"、"低收入相对脱钩"、"高收入相对脱钩"、"低收入绝对脱钩"和"高收入绝对脱钩"。最后,本研究将理论部分所做的推导以及脱钩的象限划分应用于实际的城市脱钩案例研究中,并依据一阶差分GMM的回归结果,将中国271个地级城市的经济发展与污染排放的脱钩状态进行了归类。对2004—2013年中国271个地级城市的经验分析表明,近50%的城市尚处于"低收入未脱钩"和"低收入相对脱钩"状态,意味着中国地级城市发展不平衡,且城市内部的脱钩发展与经济发展不匹配问题突出,这些城市在未来的绿色脱钩建设过程中将长期面临着"保增长"和"促脱钩"的双重任务。     

The connection between urbanization and carbon emissions: a panel evidence from West Africa

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This study examined the nexus between urbanization and carbon emissions in West Africa. Second-generation econometric techniques that are robust to...     

Innovation for sustainable development: from environmental design to transition management

Society needs to adapt in order to provide the wealth that an increasing part of the world population is getting used to. We are on a track to ecological and resource collapse if actions are not taken soon. Technology will have to play a key role in the process of changing industrial society. But innovation has to be embedded in social and organizational innovation. We need sociotechnical change. Environmentally conscious design has been practiced in engineering design for more than a decade. Its merits are sometimes blamed as futile, as the world has not witnessed a significant contribution to the solution of the larger (global) problems. This paper first sketches a scheme of the various levels of technological change, ranging from: (1) incremental optimizations of single artifacts, to (2) major change of artifacts, (3) systems change, and (4) technological transitions (involving changes in production and consumption). It outlines the stakeholders involved in these types of innovations and the parties that could orchestrate the innovation process. In this paper, It is argued that the most encompassing level of technological innovation, the level of transition, is crucial for achieving long-term sustainable development, as it has the largest potential for improvement. However, transition is not very well manageable. The paper contains a review of the literature regarding the occurrence of technological transitions. After a transition has occurred, the new system is often not efficient. Its gains in terms of diminished resource consumption or pollution have to be enlarged by less encompassing innovation strategies, such as systems innovations and product optimization. Transitions for sustainable development are often impossible, as the new systems have to compete with fully developed and optimized systems that have far advanced at the learning curve, i.e., are optimized by various systems and incremental innovations. Less encompassing levels of innovation, even those that aim at more sustainability, can counteract transitions that have more potential for sustainable development by improving the competing (unsustainable) technology. The paper will give several examples of this dilemma and some guidelines for developing government policies as well as corporate strategies. On the policy level, it is argued that it is especially important to develop (scope for) market niches for new sustainable systems and products as they create scope for experiments that could lead to transitions.

Linking agricultural adaptation strategies,food security and vulnerability: evidence from West Africa

Adaptation strategies to reduce smallholder farmers’ vulnerability to climate variability and seasonality are needed given the frequency of extreme weather events predicted to increase during the next decades in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in West Africa. We explored the linkages between selected agricultural adaptation strategies (crop diversity, soil and water conservation, trees on farm, small ruminants, improved crop varieties, fertilizers), food security, farm household characteristics and farm productivity in three contrasting agro-ecological sites in West Africa (Burkina Faso, Ghana and Senegal). Differences in land area per capita and land productivity largely explained the variation in food security across sites. Based on land size and market orientation, four household types were distinguished (subsistence, diversified, extensive, intensified), with contrasting levels of food security and agricultural adaptation strategies. Income increased steadily with land size, and both income and land productivity increased with degree of market orientation. The adoption of agricultural adaptation strategies was widespread, although the intensity of practice varied across household types. Adaptation strategies improve the food security status of some households, but not all. Some strategies had a significant positive impact on land productivity, while others reduced vulnerability resulting in a more stable cash flow throughout the year. Our results show that for different household types, different adaptation strategies may be ‘climate-smart’. The typology developed in this study gives a good entry point to analyse which practices should be targeted to which type of smallholder farmers, and quantifies the effect of adaptation options on household food security. Subsequently, it will be crucial to empower farmers to access, test and modify these adaptation options, if they were to achieve higher levels of food security.     

资源型城市环境规制的经济增长效应及其传导机制——基于创新补偿与产业结构升级的双重视角

对于中国多数资源型城市来说,改善生态环境与促进经济增长是当前面临的重要任务。一些研究认为治理环境污染可能加重"遵循成本",进而不利于经济增长;也有研究认为环境规制会通过"创新补偿"效应,增进当地产品竞争力,弥补企业成本负担并促进经济增长;此外,还有研究认为环境标准提高有助于区域产业结构升级,进而带动经济增长。为验证中国资源型城市环境规制对经济增长的影响及其传导机制,本文基于2004—2014年资源型城市数据,以样本城市GDP为被解释变量,以工业污染治理设备运行费用为解释变量,进行了面板数据实证分析,并观察了科技行业人员比重和第三产业比重的中介效应。结果显示:(1)资源型城市工业污染物治理对GDP总量和人均GDP的影响均显著为正;(2)在环境规制与GDP(或人均GDP)的正向关系中,科技行业人员比重的提升起到了部分中介作用,即存在显著的创新补偿效应;(3)除了传统观点看到的创新补偿效应,污染治理对产业结构的积极影响也在二者正向关系中有重要的中介作用,而且比创新补偿效应的作用更显著。本文的结论是,资源型城市环境规制未对经济增长造成不利影响,主要是由于经济资源从效益不佳的工业企业流向了第三产业,同时工业部门自身的创新潜力也已逐步凸显。因此,面对经济社会持续发展的压力,资源型城市要取得经济增长与生态环境的双赢,应当强化污染治理成本对企业技术进步的倒逼机制,进一步实现创新驱动发展,同时要构建多元产业体系,促进资源型行业与现代服务业的有效对接和深度融合。     

Extracted and farmed shrimp fisheries in Brazil: economic, environmental and social consequences of exploitation

This paper analyses shrimp caught from the wild and farmed shrimp in Brazil, focusing on production, amounts exported and earnings, with comparisons drawn to all of South America and the world in general. We show that wild caught shrimp still comprises the majority of what is produced and exported in Brazil, although aquaculture has been taking a relevant role in the internal and external scenario, reaching similar levels of extraction in recent years. Despite some fluctuations in the amount of extracted shrimp, Brazil increased its production from 15,000 tons in 1950 to 80,000 in 2004. The money earned with shrimp product exportation, which includes farmed shrimp as well, followed a similar tendency. Shrimp aquaculture began late in Brazil, in 1974, and grew slowly until 1995, initiating an accelerated growing process; current estimates assume 50,000 people are employed in this activity, producing about 76,000 tons of shrimp every year. Although still incipient in relation to the world shrimp farmed production, Brazil has been assuming a relevant role in South America, yielding 44% of its total production, in 2004. Despite the importance of shrimp to the country, no studies have been conducted to explore the interrelations between the environmental and social consequences of such unplanned aquaculture growth or uncontrolled wild shrimp fishing. Based on previous observations, conflicts exist between different fishing scales. However, the consequences of shrimp farming on society (displacement from their lands, changes in the life quality, etc.) have not yet been explored. Both activities, shrimp exploitation and aquaculture, deserve better control and structure toward sustainable shrimp fishing and farming. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Spillover effects of trade and foreign direct investment on economic growth: an implication for sustainable development

Environment, Development and Sustainability - This paper explores the advantages of international trade and foreign direct investment (FDI), which can be the main factors of transferring technology...     

Moving towards urban sustainability in Kenya: a framework for integration of environmental,economic, social and governance dimensions

Global urban development is increasingly becoming an aspect of focus as nations fight sustainability challenges. A review of the current literature on urban sustainability suggests that research on development of cities, in both developed and developing countries, is growing fast, with an emphasis on sustainable development. However, very little of this research contains an integrated framework to systematically identify and examine the various dimensions of urban sustainability and to measure and evaluate them appropriately. Cities are more than the sum of their sectors, and are complex and interdependent systems on whose dynamics the quality of life of millions of human beings and a good part of the economy depend. Environmental, economic, social and governance problems can create formidable barriers to urban sustainability. Governance remains a critically important dimension of urban sustainability, especially when discussing urbanization in developing countries, given rapid population movements and imbalances in socio-economic development. Understanding how cities function is fundamental to resolving these imbalances. The aim of this paper is to provide a review and analysis of the concept of urban sustainability and to propose the development of a holistic framework through integration of environmental, economic, social, and governance dimensions of sustainability. Such a review would make it possible to understand the complex dynamics of the four dimensions and to assess the progress and challenges in moving towards urban sustainability, taking the case of Nairobi, Kenya, as an example. The paper argues that, for urban sustainability in developing countries, more emphasis should be placed on the governance dimension, because this is where the biggest challenge exists, with increasing needs for immediate management of rapid urbanization.     

Relationship between carbon emissions and economic development: case study of six countries

There is much discussion within the sustainable development community regarding climate stabilization and particularly, finding environmentally equitable ways to address emission reductions. Knowing the current level of emission is only one variable in this complex picture. While the rate of emissions is clearly a problem, the overall increase in GHG concentration in the atmosphere is ultimately the main driver of anthropogenic warming. Therefore, it is also important to understand the cumulative emissions, those which have taken us to the current condition. This research presents a case study of six countries to compare the emissions per capita and cumulative emissions during the past 200 years. It is known that carbon emissions are closely related to economic activities, but here we show that some countries have reached per capita emissions plateaus at different levels while others are still rising. Specifically, one approach toward socioeconomic development, in terms of energy–economy, reaches a plateau at 10 Mt carbon per person, which the United Kingdom and South Korea have attained. The US occupies another emission regime at 20 Mt carbon per person. Developing economies such as India and China are considerably below these levels, and unless they follow other integrated economic/environmental solutions, they will continue to increase their per capita emissions during development.     

环境财税政策的治污效应研究——基于区域和门槛效应视角

首先参照投入—产出比,利用环保财政投入占GDP比重与环境污染综合指数之比对各区域环境财政政策治污效应系数进行测算,按系数值域把中国30个省(市)分成两个区域,区域1包括北京、甘肃、贵州等19个省市,区域2包括上海、浙江、福建等11个省市。其次分析环境财政政策、环境税收政策和中国式环境分权的治污效应并分区检验,最后对中国式环境分权和经济发展水平的门槛效应进行实证检验。结果表明:环境财政政策治污效应显著,区域1财政政策取得了更好的治污效果,中国目前车船税、城市维护建设税、土地使用税、耕地占用税、资源税及排污费等"近似"环境税种总体治污效应不显著,中国式环境分权与污染物排放显著正相关,中国式环境分权和经济发展水平对财政政策的治污效应具有显著的门槛效应,当中国式环境分权度低于-0.164、经济发展水平低于4.174时,环境财政政策具有更好的治污效果。样本期内以中国式环境分权为门槛变量时,有安徽、广西等15%的观测值位于低门槛区域,以经济发展水平为门槛变量时,有贵州、云南等10%的观测值位于低门槛区域。中国目前的能源消费结构和工业结构是加剧环境污染的重要原因,城镇化和对外开放在一定程度上助推了高污染和高排放。鉴于此应加大环境保护财政支出,提升环保财政支出占GDP的比重,单独开征环境保护税种,中央政府适度地环境集权,全面提升环境质量。     

Indigenous African building techniques and the prospects for sustainable housing and environmental development

In this paper, sustainability is examined as one of the objectives of enabling man in a preserved, efficient and enduring world environment. Thus, sustainable housing and environmental development is conceptualized as a building or shelter provided through judicious, selective sourcing, processing and use of building materials to satisfy current shelter needs while ensuring quality environment and adequate resources for the future generations in satisfying theirs. To stimulate orderly academic debate, the paper proposes five major factors of sustainability. They include climatic sustainability factor, ecological sustainability factor, economics and affordability sustainability factor, social sustainability factor and cultural sustainability factor. The sustainability attributes of each factor are highlighted, and the criteria for the selection of building materials to satisfy the attributes are commended.     

From economic to environmental sustainability: the forest management debate in 20th century Finland and Sweden

The issues of sustainability, efficiency, and profitability in private forestry dominated debate on Finnish and Swedish forest policy throughout the 20th century. The management and utilization of private forests have been significant for these countries since more than half of productive forest land has been owned by families. Forests have also played an important role in Finland’s and Sweden’s national economies. There was however no consensus among forest owners and forestry experts—forest scientists and forestry authorities—about the methods of achieving forestry sustainability and profitability, particularly in the early 1900s. This article focuses on the types of argument on which perceptions of good forest management were based, and the reasons for their use. The article also explores how disagreements and occasional open conflicts between private forest owners and forest authorities were solved, and what kind of regulative means were developed to avoid such differences. There are three main reasons for making a case study of Finland and Sweden: Firstly, the forest sector has played an important role in their national economies, secondly, the objectives and content of their forestry laws are quite similar, and thirdly, the tradition of family forest ownership has remained strong. The debate on good forest management in this period revolves around the two silvicultural paradigms: even-aged and uneven-aged systems. The former concerns formal, scientific knowledge of forest management, and the latter takes a traditional approach.     

Livelihood strategies in endemic livestock production systems in sub-humid zone of West Africa: trends,trade-offs and implications

Rural livelihoods in West Africa depend largely on livestock. The sub-humid and humid zones of the region, however, are highly affected by the tsetse flies, vector of trypanosomosis, by severely limiting livestock production and livelihood options. Endemic ruminant livestock breeds are trypanotolerant, but perceived as inferior compared to other breeds in terms of productivity. The paper shows trends of relative decline in endemic population as a result of increased crossbreeding, largely with zebu cattle and Sahelian sheep and goats, and considerable decline in habitat quality due to forest conversion, logging activities and bushfires. The trade-offs between livelihoods and income strategies and endemic ruminant and habitat conservation are captured by an understanding of the socio-economic conditions and potential drivers of breed choices and forest use within households and communities. The paper shows that livelihood analysis is an important step in understanding impacts and therefore responses to development projects and to ensure that the poorest categories are not excluded from development interventions.     

Design considerations for environmental sustainability in high density development: a case study of Hong Kong

This study has indicated that there is close relationship between development density and environmental quality; therefore, it is necessary to decide the form of development carefully beforehand. The form of development is shaped either by new development or urban renewal which is a major tactic nowadays adopted by the Hong Kong Government to improve the living condition of the citizens and the quality of the built environment. This study is limited to urban renewal and aims to find out the major urban design considerations for sustaining the environment. Through a questionnaire survey carried out in Hong Kong, the opinions of architects, planners, property development managers, and local citizens were sought and evaluated, and critical design factors for enhancing environmental sustainability of urban renewal projects are highlighted. The results derived from factor analysis indicated that certain design considerations should be incorporated for sustaining the urban environment. “Land Use Planning”, “Quality of Life”, “Conservation & Preservation”, “Integrated Design”, “Provision of Welfare Facilities”, and “Conservation of Existing Properties” were believed to be the significant underlying factors for achieving environmental sustainability of local urban renewal projects. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.