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Navigating sustainable development: exploring the environmental Kuznets curve in the SAARC region with global stochastic trends

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Abstract

The intricate relationship between environment, globalization, and tourism has sparked captivating debates among researchers. Current work aims to explore the combined effects GDP, GDP squre(Kuznets curve) globalization, tourism development and financial development on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. In particular, the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis within the SAARC region during 1995–2022 is investigated. To discern the long-term relationship between the variables, advanced estimators, namely continuous-updated fully modified and continuously updated and bias-corrected models, are employed. Findings indicate that globalization and tourism development contribute to increased emissions, while financial development helps in mitigating carbon emissions. It is emphasized that comprehensive changes encompassing economic, social, and political aspects are imperative to effectively curb emissions in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region. Policy makers should give careful attention to regional trade patterns, and the decision-makers of the SAARC countries are suggested to establish robust governmental and statutory frameworks to support sustainable tourism development. Furthermore, fostering financial development, particularly in the financial and private sectors, holds potential for addressing environmental degradation effectively.

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Fig. 1

Source Built by authors based on Awan and Azam (2022)

Fig. 2

Source Author’s own compilation

Fig. 3

Source Author’s own compilation

Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Source Computed by authors based on Granger causality results by using Vensim software

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Data availability

The data and materials used in this study are available upon request.

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  1. Department of Economics, Abbottabad University of Science and Technology, Abbottabad, KP, Pakistan

    Abdul Majid Awan, Sardar Fawad Saleem & Saqib Khan

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  1. Abdul Majid Awan
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  2. Sardar Fawad Saleem
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by SFS, the analysis and first draft of the manuscript were written by AMA, and proofreading and language improvement were done by SK. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Abdul Majid Awan.

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The research study titled, “environmental Kuznets curve in the SAARC region: investigating panel co-integration with global stochastic trends,” conducted by Abdul Majid Awan and the research team, has received full ethical approved confirming compliance with all necessary ethical standards and protocols.

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Awan, A.M., Saleem, S.F. & Khan, S. Navigating sustainable development: exploring the environmental Kuznets curve in the SAARC region with global stochastic trends. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04505-9

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