Production-based and consumption-based approaches for the energy-growth-environment nexus: Evidence from Asian countries

The number of studies that highlight demand-side and supply-side of environmental degradation are quite limited in the literature. The aim of this study is to analyze the energy-growth-environment nexus in cooperation with globalization, urbanization, life expectancy and biocapacity as control variables by using both consumption-based and production-based approaches in an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework for Asian countries over the years of 1971-2014. The empirical results show that globalization improves environmental quality while urbanization, life expectancy, biocapacity and energy consumption increase environmental degradation. While the EKC hypothesis is validated for supply-side analysis, it is not validated for demand-side analysis for the panel of Asian countries. The governments should take initiatives to invest in research and development for the usage, promotion, development and adoption of clean energies. The policymakers should emphasize on the development of urban planning strategies of Asian countries to overcome the negative effects of urbanization on the environment. Further implications are discussed in the study. (C) 2020 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.