Examining the relationship between fiscal decentralization, renewable energy intensity, and carbon footprints in Canada by using the newly constructed bootstrap Fourier Granger causality test in quantile.

Current paper studies the nexus between fiscal decentralization, renewable energy intensity, and carbon footprints in Canada. Preliminary empirical findings strictly reject the preposition of data normality and highlight that the observed nexus is quantile dependent. Additionally, our test looks for systematic deviations from zero in the causality at a certain quantile and frequency. In particular, we consider the bootstrap Fourier Granger causality test in quantile. At each frequency, we test the sample causality against the distribution of the median causality across frequencies estimated for that process, which may disclose the misleading causal link in previous studies using only traditional Granger causality. Our results show a negative one-way Granger causality from fiscal decentralization to carbon footprints (quantiles: 0.1-0.9) and renewable energy intensity to carbon footprints, respectively (quantiles: 0.1-0.9). Herein, results show a positive one-way Granger causality through fiscal decentralization to renewable energy intensity (quantiles: 0.3-0.7). These conclusions are used to formulate policy suggestions.

Green stocks, crypto asset, crude oil and COVID19 pandemic: Application of rolling window multiple correlation.

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted almost all spares of global social, psychological, and economic life. The emergence of various variants and corresponding variations in daily infection asymmetrically influenced economic indicators. This study extends the existing literature by exploring the hedging potential of crude oil, carbon efficiency index of green firms, and bitcoin during this pandemic. This objective is realized by employing the recently advanced rolling window multiple correlation of Polanco-Martínez (2020). This approach is based on the new p-value corrected method, which has advantages over other correlation methods. The sample observations are based on daily data from 1/22/2020 to 12/20/2021. In the bivariate case, we find a significant positive correlation between COVID-19 and CEI, while a negative impact is observed between COVID-19 and WTI. Similarly, we observe a significant and nonlinear association between COVID-19 and BTC. However, our findings show positive and significant correlations among variables in the multivariate case. The overall findings show that CEI and BTC can be safe havens for investors during this worse pandemic. The study's robust findings can be used to derive important policy implications worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Exploring the co-movements between COVID-19 pandemic and international air traffic: A global perspective based on wavelet analysis.

The travel and tourism industry was one of the fastest-growing industries before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, to avoid COVID-19 spread, the government authorities imposed strict lockdown and international border restrictions except for some emergency international flights that badly hit the travel and tourism industry. The study explores the nexus between international air departures and the COVID-19 pandemic in this strain. We use a novel wavelet coherence approach to dissect the lead and lag relationships between international flight departures and COVID-19 deaths from January 2020 to September 2020 (COVID-19 first wave period). The results reveal that international flights cause the spread of COVID-19 spread during May 2020 to June 2020 worldwide. The overall findings suggest asymmetries between daily international flight departures and COVID-19 deaths globally at different time-frequency periods due to uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will be conducive for the policymakers to control the upsurge of COVID-19 spread worldwide.

A Systematic Review of Barriers in Adoption of Environmental Management Accounting in Chinese SMEs for Sustainable Performance.

Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in sustainable development not only for their significant contribution to China's economy but also for their large share of total discharged pollutants. Despite the widely acknowledged importance and benefits of environmental management accounting (EMA), the level of adoption and implementation of EMA practice is still weak within SMEs in many countries, especially in China. The current systematic review aims to identify the barriers affecting the Chinese SMEs for adopting EMA practices along with the critical success factors required for adopting EMA practices by SMEs and their top management for ensuring sustainable corporate environmental performance in China. The study is carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. In total, 73 articles were found to be eligible to be included in the systematic review, which was published on EMA in small- and medium-sized enterprises in China. Our study aims to document barriers to the adoption of EMA among Chinese SMEs. The review concluded that strict legislation and the availability of flexible financing options for SMEs can promote the adoption of EMA by SMEs. The establishment of environmental reporting systems and auditing mechanisms can further increase the utilization of EMA by small and medium firms. Barriers to EMA adoption can be mitigated after careful consideration of the current situation in SMEs. Documentation of significant barriers may help to form supportive policies which ultimately add to the efforts toward climate change mitigation.

Investigating the existence of asymmetric environmental Kuznets curve and pollution haven hypothesis in China: Fresh evidence from QARDL and quantile Granger causality.

This study aims to analyze the asymmetric long-run relationship between economic growth (EG), foreign direct investment (FDI), and carbon emissions (CO2) within the context of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the pollution haven hypothesis (PHH) in China. Employing the quarterly data from 1982Q1 to 2018Q4, we have used novel techniques to meet the stated objectives of our study, named quantile ARDL and quantile Granger causality. The study provides novel outcomes using the advanced quantile ARDL and quantile Granger causality tests. The significant implication of this method is that it provides locational asymmetry. We find strong evidence of the EKC and PHH for China based on the empirical results of linear and nonlinear ARDL models. Similarly, findings of quantile Granger causality validate the bidirectional relationship among all variables in upper and lower quantiles. Moreover, the results of the Wald test confirm the asymmetric long-run relationship between FDI and carbon emissions (CO2). Thus, legal measures must be enhanced, accepted, rigorously imposed, and monitored in all provinces to assure a further reduction in carbon emissions. This study will be conducive for the policymakers to combat environmental contamination concerning economic growth and FDI inflow in China.

When would the dark clouds of financial inclusion be over, and the environment becomes clean? The role of national governance.

On one side, the rapid progress in financial development boosts economic growth. On the other hand, it forces both the developed and emerging countries to play the role of good governance that help save the environment. The current study aims to identify the role of national governance in the relationship between financial inclusion and ecological footprints. To attain the study's objective, we use a novel method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) on a panel data set of 65 countries from 2004 to 2017. The empirical outcomes reveal that financial inclusion has a significant positive and heterogeneous impact on ecological footprints. This effect varies across quantiles, and when moving from lower to upper quantiles, the impact of financial inclusion on environment escalates. National governance plays an important role to moderate the relationship between financial inclusion and ecological footprint negatively. Moreover, GDP and REC display a significant positive and negative influence on ecological footprints, respectively. We obtain similar and robust findings from the alternative panel estimation techniques, including FMOLS, FEOLS, and DOLS. The policy implications from this research can be considered to achieve sustainable and eco-friendly environmental goals.

Impact of human capital and financial globalization on environmental degradation in OBOR countries: Critical role of national cultural orientations.

As regional economic integration and climate change are among the most important phenomena influencing economic and social sustainability in the modern world, a huge volume of research is directed towards these topics nowadays. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of financial globalization and human capital on environmental degradation in One Belt One Road (OBOR) countries in a cultural context that is largely under-explored in spite of being immensely crucial for fulfilling the United Nations' agenda on climate change mitigation. Owing to the presence of vast cultural differences, we check if the national scores on "Power Distance Index" and "Uncertainty Avoidance" in these countries matter for the environment. To this end, we use the latest and annual data set comprising 31 OBOR countries from 1996 to 2018, and employ panel econometric techniques that effectively deal with the threat of endogeneity. Results show that human capital improves environment while financial globalization deteriorates it. Interestingly, high power distance and uncertainty avoidance can reverse the positive impact of human capital. Similarly, financial globalization is favorable for environment in countries with low power distance and uncertainty avoidance. The findings are robust to the use of alternative specifications. Theoretical underpinnings and implications are discussed arising from the interesting reversal of traditional impacts in different cultural scenarios. Specifically, we recommend a culture of entrepreneurship, innovation, and inclusivity, promoted through increased tolerance towards risk-taking and participative decision-making to reap the benefits of human capital and globalization in improving the environment. Our results have important implications for climate change mitigation endeavors in OBOR countries and understanding the cultural context in this regard. Additionally, our study opens a vast avenue for the related research work in the future.

On the indirect environmental outcomes of COVID-19: short-term revival with futuristic long-term implications.

The aim of this study is to identify and highlight the positive and negative indirect environmental impacts of COVID-19, with a particular focus on the most affected economies (USA, China, Spain, and Italy). In this respect, the empirical and theoretical dimensions of the contents of those impacts are analyzed. Research findings reveal a significant relationship between contingency actions and positive indirect impacts such as air quality improvements, clean beaches, and the decline in environmental noise. Besides, negative indirect impacts also exist, such as the rise in waste level and curtailment in recycling, further threatening the physical spaces (land and water), besides air. It is expected that global businesses will revive in the near future (though slowly), but the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions during this short time span is not a sustainable way of environmental mitigation. Thus, long-term mitigation policies should be strengthened to cope with the undesirable deterioration of the environment. Research findings provide an up-to-date glimpse of the pandemic from the perspectives of current and future indirect environmental impacts and the post-pandemic situation. Finally, it is suggested to invent and prepare action plans to induce a sustainable economic and environmental future in the post-pandemic world scenario.

Climate indicators and COVID-19 recovery: A case of Wuhan during the lockdown.

The world needs to get out of the COVID-19 pandemic smoothly through a thorough socio-economic recovery. The first and the foremost step forward in this direction is the health recovery of the people infected. Our empirical study addresses this neglected point in the recent research on COVID-19 and specifically aims at exploring the impact of the environment on health recovery from COVID-19. The sample data are taken during the lockdown period in Wuhan, i.e., from 23rd January 2020 to 8th April 2020. The recently developed econometric technique of Quantile-on-Quantile regression, proposed by Shin and Zhu (2016) is employed to capture the asymmetric association between environmental factors (TEMP, HUM, PM2.5, PM10, CO, SO2, NO2, and O3) and the number of recovered patients from COVID-19. We observe significant heterogeneity in the association among variables across various quantiles. The findings suggest that TEMP, PM2.5, PM10, CO, NO2, and O3 are negatively related to the COVID-19 recovery, while HUM and SO2 show a positive association at most quantiles. The study recommends that maintaining a safe and comfortable environment for the patients may increase the chances of recovery from COVID-19. The success story of Wuhan, the initial epicenter of the novel coronavirus in China, can serve as an important case study for other countries to bring the outbreak under control. The current study could be conducive for the policymakers of those countries where the COVID-19 pandemic is still unrestrained.

Role of trade openness, export diversification, and renewable electricity output in realizing carbon neutrality dream of China.

Since climate change mitigation is the central debate of modern literature, the realization of carbon neutrality in response to diversified macroeconomic variables is the most crucial concern of international economies. However, the critical role of trade and renewable electricity output in export diversification-environmental nexus is missing. Therefore, this study investigates the combined influence of trade openness, exports diversification, and renewable electricity output on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2) in China from 1989 through 2019. Applying novel time series econometric techniques robust to structural breaks, following new outcomes are obtained. Firstly, long-run equilibrium cointegration existed among the under-analysis variables. Secondly, export diversification and renewable electricity output are predicted to decelerate CO2, supporting carbon neutrality in the long run. Thirdly, trade openness and gross domestic product accelerated the CO2, delaying carbon neutrality accomplishment. Most importantly, significant structural break dummy interacting with trade openness implicated that during the post-2001 era, China's trade openness extensively deteriorated the environmental quality in the face of trade liberalization obtained after joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). Based on empirical results, export diversification and renewable electricity production policies should be mutually non-exclusive and closely coordinated. Further, to counter the carbon emission acceleration impact of trade openness, increasing the share of green tradable products is suggested. Finally, bilateral trade restructuring is recommended to realize the long-term dream of economic sustainability and carbon neutrality.

Non-linear spatial linkage between COVID-19 pandemic and mobility in ten countries: A lesson for future wave.

BACKGROUND: Restrictive measures enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in dramatic and substantial variations in people's travel habits and behaviors worldwide. This paper empirically examines the asymmetric inter-linkages between transportation mobility and COVID-19. METHODS: Using daily data from 1st March 2020 to 15th July 2020, this study draws the dynamic and causal relationships between transportation mobility and COVID-19 in ten selected countries (i.e., USA, Brazil, Mexico, UK, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, and Belgium). To systematically analyze how the quantiles of COVID-19 (transportation mobility) affect the quantiles of transportation mobility (COVID-19), a complete set of non-linear modeling including the quantile-on-quantile (QQ) regression and quantile Granger causality in mean is applied. RESULTS: Our preliminary findings strictly reject the preposition of data normality and highlight that the observed relationship is highly correlated and quantile-dependent. The empirical results demonstrate the heterogeneous dependence between COVID-19 and transportation mobility across quantiles. The findings acclaim the presence of a significant positive association between COVID-19 and transportation mobility in the USA, UK, Spain, Italy, Canada, France, Germany and Belgium, predominantly at upper quantiles, but results are contrasting in the case of Brazil and Mexico. In addition, either lower or upper quantiles of both variables indicate a declining negative effect of transportation mobility on COVID-19. Furthermore, the outcomes of quantile Granger causality in mean conclude a bidirectional causal link between COVID-19 and transportation mobility for almost all sample countries. Unlike them, France has found unidirectional causality that extends from COVID-19 to transportation mobility. CONCLUSIONS: We may conclude that COVID-19 leads to a reduction in transportation mobility. On the other hand, the empirical results quantify that excessive transportation mobility levels stimulate pandemic cases, and social distancing is one of the primary measures to encounter infection transmission. Imperative country-specific policy implications pertaining to public health, potential virus spread, transportation, and the environment may be drawn from these findings.

A study on the effects of meteorological and climatic factors on the COVID-19 spread in Canada during 2020.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has infected more than three million people, with thousands of deaths and millions of people into quarantine. In this research, the authors focus on meteorological and climatic factors on the COVID-19 spread, the main parameters including daily new cases of COVID-19, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), PM2.5, Ozone (O3), average temperature, and humidity are examined to understand how different meteorological parameters affect the COVID-19 spread in Canada? The graphical quantitative analysis results indicate that CO2 emissions, air quality, temperature, and humidity have a direct negative relationship with COVID-19 infections. Quantile regression analysis revealed that air quality, Nitrogen, and Ozone significantly induce the COVID-19 spread across Canadian provinces. The findings of this study are contrary to the earlier studies, which argued that weather and climate change significantly increase COVID-19 infections. We suggested that meteorological and climatic factors might be critical to reducing the COVID-19 new cases in Canada based on the findings. This work's empirical conclusions can provide a guideline for future research and policymaking to stop the COVID-19 spread across Canadian provinces.

Time-frequency co-movement between COVID-19, crude oil prices, and atmospheric CO2 emissions: Fresh global insights from partial and multiple coherence approach.

This paper endeavors to analyze and provide fresh global insights from the asymmetric nexus between the recent outbreak of COVID-19, crude oil prices, and atmospheric CO2 emissions. The analysis employs a unique Morlet's wavelet method. More precisely, this paper implements comprehensive wavelet coherence analysis tools, including continuous wavelet coherence, partial wavelet coherence, and multiple wavelet coherence to the daily dataset spanning from December 31, 2019 to May 31, 2020. From the frequency perspective, this paper finds significant wavelet coherence and vigorous lead and lag connections. This analysis ascertains significant movement in variables over frequency and time domain. These results demonstrate strong but varying connotations between studied variables. The results also indicate that COVID-19 impacts crude oil prices and the most contributor to the reduction in CO2 emissions during the pandemic period. This study offers practical and policy implications and endorsements for individuals, environmental experts, and investors.

Investigating the Co-movement Nexus Between Air Quality, Temperature, and COVID-19 in California: Implications for Public Health.

This research aims to look at the link between environmental pollutants and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in California. To illustrate the COVID-19 outbreak, weather, and environmental pollution, we used daily confirmed cases of COVID-19 patients, average daily temperature, and air quality Index, respectively. To evaluate the data from March 1 to May 24, 2020, we used continuous wavelet transform and then applied partial wavelet coherence (PWC), wavelet transform coherence (WTC), and multiple wavelet coherence (MWC). Empirical estimates disclose a significant association between these series at different time-frequency spaces. The COVID-19 outbreak in California and average daily temperature show a negative (out phase) coherence. Similarly, the air quality index and COVID-19 also show a negative association circle during the second week of the observed period. Our findings will serve as policy implications for state and health officials and regulators to combat the COVID-19 outbreak.

Nexus Between Foreign Direct Investment Inflow, Renewable Energy Consumption, Ambient Air Pollution, and Human Mortality: A Public Health Perspective From Non-linear ARDL Approach.

A huge foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow has been witnessed in China, though on the one hand, it brings a significant contribution to economic growth. On the other hand, it adversely affects the ambient air pollution that may affect human mortality in the country. Renewable energy (RE) usage meets the country's energy needs with no adverse effect on the environment. Therefore, this study is trying to empirically analyze the effect of FDI inflow on human morality and RE consumption in China. We used time-series data for 1998-2020 and applied a non-linear ARDL approach for the estimations. The empirical outcomes suggest that FDI inflow positively affects mortality and RE. There is also unidirectional causality running from RE and pollution to mortality. In addition, the relationship among the variable verifies the existence of a non-linear relationship. The government needs policy guidelines to further boost FDI inflow due to its positive aspects. However, to reduce the negative effect on the environment and human morality, the extensive usage of RE should be adopted. Indeed, proper legislation for foreign firms might be a good step toward quality environmental and longevity of human health in society.

Impact of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on daily routines and air environment: evidence from Turkey.

Turkish people are facing several problems because of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), as the pandemic has brought about drastic changes to their daily routines. This study mainly investigates the impact of this pandemic on the daily routines of Turkish. It also unveils how COVID-19 affects the air environment. The adopted methods for data collection are based on open-ended questions and Facebook interviews as per recommended by QSR-International (2012). The sample of this study comprises of Turkish students as well as professional workers. The findings of the research show that there are eighteen different results of COVID-19 that have been identified according to the Turkish people's daily routines. Results reveal that increasing unemployment, decrease in air contamination, high stress and depression, a slowdown in the economic growth, and the tourism industry are profoundly affected due to the COVID-19 in Turkey. Furthermore, on the one hand, the consequences of the pandemic are segregated into social problems and psychological issues in daily routines. On the other hand, they have shown a positive impact on the air environment. This study concludes that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the lives of the people in Turkey are subject to deterioration, while the air environment of Turkey is gradually improving.

Asymmetric nexus between urban agglomerations and environmental pollution in top ten urban agglomerated countries using quantile methods.

The rapid urbanization growth has not only improved the living standards of people but also raised concerns for environmental sustainability over the globe. In this regard, the issue of excessive urban concentration or over-agglomeration in metropolitan areas is nowadays the prime concern for urban planning and building energy-efficient and eco-friendly infrastructures. In response to rising interest in the dynamic linkage between urban concentration and environment, the current research empirically examines the crucial nexus between urban agglomerations and environmental degradation in top ten urban agglomerated countries in the world from 1960Q1 to 2014Q4. The current research is the pioneer empirical work in the area of urbanization by applying recently developed and innovative methods of quantile-on-quantile (QQ) approach and quantile Granger causality in relatively less explored area of urban agglomeration at the cross-country level. Our mainstream findings indicate that urban agglomeration has a strong positive effect on CO2 emissions in most of our sample countries, and this effect is more pronounced in higher quantiles of respective variables. These results imply that excessive levels of urban concentration in big cities cause environmental degradation, which could be attributed to extreme population density, overcrowding, traffic congestion and extensive demand for energy consumption. However, some countries such as Israel, Paraguay and Columbia exhibit overall declining and negative trends about the relationship between urban agglomerations and CO2 emissions. Moreover, quantile Granger causality results confirm the previous findings of QQ regression and verify the existence of bidirectional causal nexus between urban agglomerations and CO2 emissions in the majority of the lower, middle and upper quantiles in our selected top ten countries except for Kuwait. However, the unidirectional causal relationship also exists for several countries for extreme lower, middle and extremely higher quantiles. Our findings extend the previous work on agglomeration-environment nexus by determining the asymmetric magnitude of linkage between these two variables demanding cautious and individual-focused policies for urban planning and environmental sustainability.

How does CEO tenure affect corporate social and environmental disclosures in China? Moderating role of information intermediaries and independent board.

The present study provides empirical evidence on how chief executive officer (CEO) tenure influences the corporate social and environmental disclosures (CS&ED) of all listed non-financial Chinese firms from 2008 to 2016. We used fixed-effect panel data regression model to test our hypothesis. The findings show a negative impact of CEO tenure on CS&ED. Our study provides evidence that CS&ED increases in the early service tenure of CEOs than in their later service periods, as the early increase followed by a decline indicates the presence of non-linear inverted U-shaped association between CEO tenure and disclosure practices. In further analyses, we find that the negative effect of CEO tenure on CS&ED is more pronounced for the firms having a larger number of information intermediaries and independent directors, such as higher level of institutional ownership, analyst's coverage, and more independent directors in a firm. We found the stronger and robust outcomes after controlling the endogeneity problem. In conclusion, this study can be useful for policymakers to link CS&ED with firm economic practices to attain sustainable development goals. Moreover, CS&ED implementation can be an effective means for the managers to mitigate career-concerns.

Asymmetric nexus between COVID-19 outbreak in the world and cryptocurrency market.

In the wake of recent pandemic of COVID-19, we explore its unprecedented impact on the cryptocurrencies' market. Specifically, we check how the changing intensity of the COVID-19 represented by the daily addition in new infections worldwide affects the daily returns of the top 10 cryptocurrencies according to the market capitalization. The results from Quantile-on-Quantile Regression (QQR) approach reveal that the changing intensity levels of the COVID-19 affect the Bearish and the Bullish market scenarios of cryptocurrencies differently (asymmetric impact). Additionally, there are differences between these currencies in their responses to the changing levels of this pandemic's intensity. Most of the currencies absorbed the small shocks of COVID-19 by registering positive gains but failed to resist against the huge changes except Bitcoin, ADA, CRO, and up to some extent Ethereum. Our results reveal new and asymmetric dynamics of this emerging asset class against an extremely stressful and unpredictable event (COVID-19). Moreover, these results are robust to the use of alternative proxy (COVID-19 deaths) for pandemic intensity. Our findings help to improve investors and policymakers' understanding of the cryptocurrencies' market dynamics, especially in the times of extremely stressful and unseen events.

Effects of climatological parameters on the outbreak spread of COVID-19 in highly affected regions of Spain.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is infecting the human population, killing people, and destroying livelihoods. This research sought to explore the associations of daily average temperature (AT) and air quality (PM2.5) with the daily new cases of COVID-19 in the top four regions of Spain (Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, and Madrid). To this end, the authors employ Pearson correlation, Spearman correlation, and robust panel regressions to quantify the overall co-movement between temperature, air quality, and daily cases of COVID-19 from 29 February to 17 July 2020. Overall empirical results show that temperature may not be a determinant to induce COVID-19 spread in Spain, while the rising temperature may reduce the virus transmission. However, the correlation and regression findings illustrate that air quality may speed up the transmission rate of COVID-19. Our findings are contrary to the earlier studies, which show a significant impact of temperature in raising the COVID-19 spread. The conclusions of this work can serve as an input to mitigate the rapid spread of COVID-19 in Spain and reform policies accordingly.