Ecological footprint and real income: panel data evidence from the 27 highest emitting countries

A step towards environmental mitigation: Do tourism, renewable energy and institutions really matter? A QARDL approach.

This paper examines the relationship between income and environmental quality using environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The hypothesised link is tested using time-series analysis of 22 countries over the period 1961–2011. The degree of environmental impacts of economic activity is measured using ecological footprint (EF) per capita as explanatory variable, while real gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and its quadratic and cubic forms are used as predictor variables in these countries. First, the EKC hypothesis is tested through examining the relationship between EF and GDP using linear, quadratic and cubic functions. Further, the long-run relationship between EF and GDP is investigated using a vector error correction model. It was found that there is a cointegrated relationship between the variables in almost all countries, which was statistically significant, and EKC supported in 10 countries. Additionally, almost all error correction terms are correct in sign and are significant, which implies that some percentage of disequilibria in EF in the previous year adjusts back to the long-run equilibrium in the current year. Therefore, an efficient trade-off between environmental protection and economic benefits should be taken, and EF should be reduced through changing consumption patterns, improving the efficiency of use of resources and cleaner technology choices.

Does Ecological Footprint Impede Economic Growth? An Empirical Analysis Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis*

Abstract A major environmental issue of the rise in garment production is a steep increase of textile waste. At the same time, recycling technologies appear to be promising avenues for sustainability transitions of the fashion industry. This article examines the chances and challenges of scaling recycling technologies for textiles and considers the collection and sorting processes as well as the actual reuse. Drawing on case studies and expert interviews, the results indicate current obstacles and opportunities for accelerating diffusion of recycling technologies. Various initiatives are promising, however industry structures, garment designs, and business models need to be re-orientated and re-aligned to accelerate these recycling concepts. Applying the greenwashing notion that acknowledges co-creation by producers and consumers, the article critically argues that the focus on recycled polyester bottles for garments distorts incentives to improve other recycling technologies and masks the true cost of textile-waste recycling. Instead, fashion-brand companies and retailers should leverage their market power to foster sustainability standards in the global recycling industry.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15487733.2022.2027122?needAccess=true

Recycling technologies for enabling sustainability transitions of the fashion industry: status quo and avenues for increasing post-consumer waste recycling

Spatial as a contributor to biological productivity and ecosystem services have not been considered in the sustainable development of small islands. The aim of this study to appraise biocapacity (BC) in the Gili Matra Islands to estimate the existing carrying capacity for sustainable development, and refines the current BC methodology that emphasizes the spatial aspects in small islands. Based on analysis results, the Gili Matra Islands have BC total ranging from 659.46 to 1,069.57 gha in 2010, and increased from 673.64 to 1,093.02 gha in 2014. The highest total BC is the Gili Trawangan Island, while the lowest is the Gili Meno Island, but for the local BC is the opposite. The total local BC per island can be supplied around 0.00857 gha per capita for the Gili Ayer Island, 0.20103 gha per capita for the Gili Meno Island, and 0.00344 gha per capita for the Gili Trawangan Island. They are influenced by population density. The BC values indicate a critical position, both per-unit-area or per-capita, which is spatially nearly 100 % of the needs supplied from outside the island, and demonstrate the use on the Gili Matra Region have exceeded the existing carrying capacity. The sustainable development aspects and land use management should be applied strictly to ensure the sustainability of natural resources, social and economic, as well as cotinuously consider the efforts and existing strategies of conservation. The export and import factors of bioproductivity should be considered in making long-term planning. Spatially, BC appraisal was applicable to illustrate the condition of an area on the small islands. The GIS based BC can give the information of pattern of changes and distributions, both spatial and temporal. However, the statistical data use is needed to get the value of BC per capita.

http://www.ojs.omniakuatika.net/index.php/joa/article/download/228/148

Biocapacity in the Gili Matra Region: A Spatial Assessment of The Carrying Capacity of Small Islands

The paper proposes a measure of renewable bio-capacity. We argue that some dimensions of ecological sustainability should not be included in the Ecological Footprint. These include human activities that should be phased out to obtain sustainability, such as emissions of persistent compounds foreign to nature and qualitative aspects that represent secondary uses of ecological areas and do not, therefore, occupy a clearly identifiable additional ecological space. We also conclude that the Ecological Footprint, by aggregating in a consistent way a variety of human impacts, it can effectively identify the scale of the human economy by comparison with the size of the biosphere.

Piciu Gabriela Cornelia

Papers

True Cost Economics: Ecological Footprint