Is export quality a viable option for sustainable development paths of Asian countries?

Area of Science:

• Environmental Economics
• Sustainable Development
• Climate Change Policy

Background:

• Emerging Asian economies face challenges balancing economic growth with climate action goals.
• The role of export quality in mitigating carbon emissions remains under-researched in this context.
• Sustainable Development Goals necessitate understanding factors influencing environmental degradation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of export quality on carbon emissions in emerging Asian countries.
• To examine the relationship between economic growth, energy use, export quality, and carbon emissions.
• To test the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in selected Asian nations.

Main Methods:

• An empirical model was constructed to analyze the impact of real GDP, energy use, and export quality index on carbon emissions.
• The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach was employed for data from 1970 to 2014.
• The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis was tested by including the square of real GDP.

Main Results:

• Increased export quality led to reduced CO2 emissions in China and India.
• Conversely, rising export quality increased CO2 emissions in Thailand and the Philippines.
• Asymmetric causality revealed positive export quality shocks increase CO2 emissions in Thailand and Indonesia, while India and China showed mixed effects.

Conclusions:

• Export quality has a varied impact on carbon emissions across emerging Asian economies.
• The study confirms an inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis for China and Thailand.
• Policy implications differ by country, highlighting the need for tailored climate action strategies.