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The nexus between CO2 emissions, human capital, technology transfer, and renewable energy: evidence from Belt and Road countries

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Abstract

To sustain global warming below 2 °C, carbon dioxide emission mitigation has become an extensive worldwide priority. This paper proposes a comprehensive assessment by evaluating the effects of technology transfer, human capital, and renewable energy on carbon dioxide emissions among seven different regions along with the Belt and Road Initiatives from 2008 to 2018. Based on econometric estimations, it is found that human capital, renewable energy, and technology transfer show a negative but significant association with carbon dioxide emissions, indicating that an increase in human capital, renewable energy, and technology transfer can reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the Belt and Road countries. On the other hand, we found a positive and significant relationship between carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, and foreign direct investment (FDI), indicating that economic growth and foreign direct investment increase carbon emissions. The findings of this study reveal that the adaptation of technology transfer, renewable energy consumption, and human capital are key factors in the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions in the Belt and Road counties. Our findings provide evidence of the social advantages of investing in advanced human capital, renewable energy, and technology transfer suggesting a promising route for devoting climate change without impeding economic growth.

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Fig. 1

Source: the Belt and Road (https://www.weekinchina.com/chapter/belt-and-road/what-is-belt-and-road/)

Fig. 2
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Abbreviations

BRI:

Belt and Road Initiative

CO2:

Carbon dioxide emissions

UNFCCC:

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

GHGs:

Greenhouse gases

GMM:

Generalized method of moment

SEA:

Southeast Asia

EA:

East Asia

SA:

South Asia

EE:

Eastern Europe

ME:

Middle East

NA:

North Africa

MENA:

Middle East and North Africa

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Funding

This study is financially supported by the 2021 Anhui Provincial University Science research project (Grant No. SK2021A0290).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Industrial Economics, School of Economics and Management, Anhui Polytechnic University, Wuhu, 241000, Anhui, China

    Yasir Khan & Zhang Xiuqin

  2. School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, China

    Taimoor Hassan

  3. School of Economics and Finance, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Muhammad Tufail

  4. Faculty of Commerce, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt

    Mohamed Marie

  5. School of Business Studies, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan

    Muhammad Imran

Authors
  1. Yasir Khan
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  2. Taimoor Hassan
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  3. Muhammad Tufail
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  4. Mohamed Marie
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  5. Muhammad Imran
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  6. Zhang Xiuqin
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Contributions

Yasir Khan: first author, conceptualization, resources, writing—original draft preparation, and funding acquisition. Taimoor Hassan: conceptualization, methodology, software, and formal analysis. Muhamed Meri: conceptualization, validation, and methodology. Mohammad Imran: data curation, software, and visualization. Zhang Xiuqin: writing—reviewing and editing. Muhammad Tufail cooperated in gathering and writing the relevant literature for this study.

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Correspondence to Taimoor Hassan.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 14 Countries along the Belt and Road Initiative
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Khan, Y., Hassan, T., Tufail, M. et al. The nexus between CO2 emissions, human capital, technology transfer, and renewable energy: evidence from Belt and Road countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 59816–59834 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-20020-8

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