The role of pricing strategies, clean technologies, and ecological regulation on the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international 2022-05, Vol.29 (21), p.31943-31956
• Main Authors: Khurshid, Adnan, Qayyum, Sadia, Calin, Adrian Cantemir, Saleem, Sardar Fawad, Nazir, Naila
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbon; Carbon Dioxide; Clean energy; Clean technology; Climate change; Control equipment; Costs and Cost Analysis; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological effects; Economic Development; Economic growth; Ecotoxicology; Emission analysis; Emissions; Emissions control; Empirical analysis; Energy consumption; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental policy; Environmental science; Environmental tax; Error analysis; Error correction; Green energy; Innovations; R&D; Renewable Energy; Research & development; Research Article; Sustainable development; Taxation; United Nations; Urbanization; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-18043-8

The dynamics of global emissions and the increasing focus on market-based policy instruments have prompted this research to examine the extent to which such instruments are successful in emission control. The study explores the influence of carbon taxes, eco-friendly innovations, and ecological policy in attaining sustainable development goals and fulfilling the mitigation targets of climate change for 2030. The article selected 15 EU countries from southern and western regions and tested the empirical relationship between 2000 and 2018. This work used second-generation testing approaches and error correction-based modeling approaches to analyze the relationship between the variables. The results show that eco-friendly innovations and environmental policies help reduce emissions in the long and short run. On the other hand, carbon taxes have a more prominent effect on mitigation efforts, specifically in the short run. Factors such as urbanization, economic growth, and energy consumption are the most prominent polluting elements, the results being consistent in all models. The results further show a unidirectional and bidirectional causality relationship between the variables, and outcomes are more country-specific. Given these arguments, carbon taxes are a short-term instrument in combating carbon emissions. However, the sustainable development vision 2030 relies on eco-innovations linked with research and development and the transition from gray to green energy. Graphical abstract