Impact of Belt and Road countries’ renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on ecological footprint

The Belt and Road Initiative nations are not immune to ecological challenges. Even as sustainable development and climate change mitigation are increasingly gaining global acceptance, the Belt and Road Initiative’s impact on the environment is concerning. The sheer size of the project means the use of vast energy and other resources, which harms the environment. To that end, the study examines the impact of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on the ecological footprints of member nations of the Belt and Road Initiative. The scientific value and contribution of the study are that its findings will contribute to a greener project’s implementation. The data were obtained from the 2021 World Development Indicators and the Global Footprint Network, with the instrumental variable regression estimating the empirical results. The findings suggest a significant negative relationship between renewable energy consumption and the ecological footprint. On the contrary, usage of non-renewable energy has a significant positive relationship with ecological impact. In conclusion, renewable energy improves the quality of the environment, while non-renewable energy degrades it. The benefits of renewable energy are enormous over the long term, despite its initial cost.