Assessing energy efficiency in the Asia-Pacific region and the mediating role of environmental pollution: evidence from a super-efficiency model with a weighting preference scheme.

The demand for primary energy resources has increased significantly due to the rapid growth of the global economy and increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Therefore, improving energy efficiency levels is essential for global energy, energy security, and environmental sustainability. In the context of the Asia-Pacific region, the study of energy efficiency among different countries can play a role in better energy utilization. These countries also provide a policy for the Asia-Pacific region to improve its energy utilization. This study's primary focus is to investigate the optimal efficiency score of 15 areas of the Asia-Pacific region, and the analysis is based on super-efficiency (radical) and super slacks-based measure (SBM) data in a nonparametric DEA model. Three areas in the Asia-Pacific are selected for energy efficiency measures: South Asia, East Asia, and Australasia. The results suggest that Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, Singapore, New Zealand, the Philippines, Japan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam obtain the most efficient score of 1 in both DEA models throughout the study period. Australia and Sri Lanka receive a low score during all study periods, while Hong Kong does not have data for all study years. The results of the study will help improve energy performance, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability, increasing the competitiveness and scalability of efficient energy sources.

Assessment of rice and wheat production efficiency based on data envelopment analysis.

Global warming, energy consumption (EC), and food safety have caused an increase of focus regarding agricultural crop productivity with a principal focus on CEs from crop farming. This study analyzes Pakistan, India, and China's rice and wheat production rating through the CCR and SBM DEA framework. The recorded rice (0.60) and wheat (1.00) production, through the CCR approach, can be considered the highest productivity. The rating productivity of the parallel DMUs for the CCR (or BCC) framework average degree of technical productivity of SBM model of wheat and rice production, which does not adhere to the degree of 100% amongst all countries. Keeping the area's efficiency in mind, the average technical productivity rating recorded through CCR is 0.87, and SBM is 0.86 and is significantly lower than the ideal rating in the original DEA. By decreasing tomato output through farmers' productive operations, energy can be conserved by 21.4% compared to its current level by enhancing the utilization of essential resources, chemical fertilizers, farmyard manure, and water bear comparatively greater trading weights. It is eminent to decrease energy usage and carbon discharge in rice production. Similarly, the high yield and adequate rice plantation methods should be encouraged in the given region.

It is time to control the worst: testing COVID-19 outbreak, energy consumption and CO2 emission.

During the COVID-19 outbreak, managing energy consumption and CO2 emission remained a serious problem. The previous literature rarely solved this real-time issue, and there is a lack of public research proposing an effective way forward on it. However, the study examines the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on energy consumption and CO2 emission. The design of the study is quantitative, and the data is acquired from different online databases. The model of the study is inferred by using panel unit root test and ARDL test. The robustness of study findings was checked through panel quantile regression. The findings highlighted that the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively significant with energy consumption and CO2 emission. The study suggested revising the energy consumption patterns by developing and implementing the national action plan for energy consumption and environmental protection. The study also contributed in knowledge by suggesting the novel insight into CO2 emission and energy consumption patterns during COVID-19 pandemic and recommended to consider renewable energy transition methods as an opportunity for the society. For a more effective management of energy consumption and environmental pollution, country-specific measures are suggested to be taken, and the national government should support the concerned public departments, ministries and private organizations on it. To the best of our study, this is one of the pioneer studies studying this novel link and suggesting the way forward on recent topicality.

The role of fixed capital formation, renewable and non-renewable energy in economic growth and carbon emission: a case study of Belt and Road Initiative project.

Economic integration in the form of Belt and Road Initiative project opens many opportunities and hazards, especially of the participating nations' environment. The current study attempted to empirically test the economic and energy usage (renewable and non-renewable) impact on some selected countries of belt and road projects. For this purpose, the panel data set of twenty-four emerging economies of belt and road projects was selected from 1995 to 2014. The autoregressive distributed lags technique of econometric applied to determine the effect of renewable and non-renewable energy, GDP and GDP2 for EKC, and gross fixed capital formation on carbon emission in the selected countries of Belt and Road Initiative project. The outcomes of this study confirm the existence of EKC in these underlined countries. Here, fossil fuel-based energy consumption is a source of environmental degradation, while renewable and clean energy usage can help sustain environmental conditions without affecting economic growth progress. Capital fixed formation in these economies can enhance economic growth and help to sustainable environmental conditions in the belt and road countries. Thus, based on these empirical outcomes, this study suggests economic and financial assistance in green renewable energy sources and clean technological innovation to enhance economic benefits of Belt and Road Initiative project without compromising the environmental conditions of the region.