The carbon dioxide emission effects of domestic credit and manufacturing indicators in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1531-1548
Author(s):  
Paul Adjei Kwakwa ◽  
Frank Adusah-Poku

PurposeCarbon dioxide emission is one of the key causes of global warming and climate change. This study investigates the effects of domestic credit and manufacturing indicators on the emission of carbon dioxide in South Africa.Design/methodology/approachThe paper relied on time series data from 1975 to 2014 and employed regression and variance decomposition methods to analyze the data.FindingsIn the long run, manufacturing output increases total carbon emissions and emissions from solid fuel; manufactures trade reduces carbon emissions and domestic credit reduces emissions from the manufacturing industries and construction. The long-run effect of the changing technical characteristics of the manufacturing sector is sensitive to the estimation technique used. In the short run, however, changing technical characteristics of the manufacturing sector affect the level of carbon emissions. Income increases emissions from manufacturing industries and construction and urbanization increases total carbon emissions.Research limitations/implicationsPolicymakers have to initiate effective policies to promote energy-efficient technologies among manufacturing firms.Originality/valueThe paper examines the effect of manufacturing on carbon dioxide emissions in South Africa. It also examines the possible effect of manufactures trade on carbon emissions. Moreover, the possible effect of the changing characteristics of the manufacturing sector on carbon emissions is investigated.

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Adjei Kwakwa ◽  
Hamdiyah Alhassan ◽  
George Adu

Purpose Even though many studies have attempted to understand the drivers of carbon dioxide emission and energy consumption to help tackle environmental issues, not much has been done to estimate the effect of natural resources extraction on these two variables. This paper aims to analyze the long-run and short-run carbon dioxide emission and energy consumption effect of natural resources extraction in Ghana. Design/methodology/approach The theoretical foundation for this study is the Stochastic Impacts Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) model. Secondary Data sourced from World Development Indicators (2018) for the period of 1971-2013 were used. Estimation was done by using the autoregressive distributed lag. Findings It was found among other things that urbanization, and extraction of natural resources contribute to Ghana’s carbon dioxide emission, while official development assistance helps in reducing carbon dioxide emission in the long run. Again, while income and extraction of natural resources increase energy consumption, urbanization and official development assistance reduce environmental degradation in the long run. Regarding the short run, income and urbanization both increase energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission; trade openness and official development assistance decrease both carbon dioxide emission and energy consumption. Research limitations/implications The implications from the results include the need to strictly enforce laws regulating extractive activities in the country to ensure a safe environment; and also to raise tariff and non-tariff barriers on products that do not promote a friendly environment and vice versa. Originality/value The effect of natural resources extraction on carbon emission and energy consumption is examined.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 3162-3179 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shamraiz Ahmad ◽  
Kuan Yew Wong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review and analyze the recent sustainability assessment studies in the manufacturing industry from the triple-bottom-line (TBL) perspective. This paper aims to depict the status quo of practical sustainability assessment, summarize the different levels and boundaries of evaluation, and highlight the difficulties and further improvements needed to make the assessment more effective in the manufacturing industry. Design/methodology/approach Four keywords, namely, sustainability assessment, sustainable manufacturing, TBL and green production, were used to explore and find the relevant articles. First, this paper systematically reviewed the studies and analyzed the different levels and boundaries of sustainability assessment. Following this, the reviewed studies were critically discussed along with their merits and shortcomings. Findings The review showed that most of the sustainability assessment studies were conducted on product, company and process levels in the manufacturing industry. Nevertheless, there is still a need to focus more on plant and process level assessments to achieve the TBL objectives. Environmental assessment is comparatively matured in manufacturing industries. However, from the economic and social viewpoints, only cost analysis and workers’ safety, respectively, were considered in most of the studies. The economic and social indicators need to be more inclusive and should be validated and standardized for manufacturing industries. Originality/value Unlike previous sustainability assessment reviews in manufacturing industries which were mostly based on life cycle assessment, this paper has included environmental, social and economic aspects in one comprehensive review and focused on recent studies published from 2010 to 2017. This paper has explored the recent sustainability assessment trends and provided insights into the development of sustainability assessment in the manufacturing sector.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sinwoo Lee ◽  
Dong-Woon Noh ◽  
Dong-hyun Oh

This study measures and decomposes green productivity growth of Korean manufacturing industries between 2004 and 2010 using the Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index. We focus on differences in the measures of productivity growth by distinguishing carbon emissions from either end-user industries or the electricity generation industry. Empirical results suggest three main findings. First, the efficiency of total emissions is higher than that of direct emissions except for the shipbuilding industry. Second, green productivity in the manufacturing sector increased during the study period. Finally, green productivity depends on the indirect emissions of each industry. These results indicate that policymakers need to deliberately develop policy tools for mitigating carbon emissions of the manufacturing industrial sectors based on our empirical findings.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rina Datt ◽  
Pranil Prasad ◽  
Connie Vitale ◽  
Krishan Prasad

Purpose The market for the assurance of carbon emissions disclosures is showing intensive growth. However, due to the largely voluntary nature of carbon reporting and assurance, there are currently no clear standards or guidelines and little is known about it. The purpose of this paper is to examine the reporting and assurance practices for carbon emissions disclosures. Design/methodology/approach This study provides evidence on this market, with a sample that includes 13,419 firm-year observations across 58 countries between 2010 and 2017 from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) database. Findings The results show that the demand for carbon emissions reporting comes mainly from North America, the UK and Japan. Recently, markets such as South Africa have also shown increased demand for carbon reporting. The data also shows that more firms are seeking assurance for their carbon emissions reports. Legitimacy, stakeholder and institutional theories are used to explain the findings of this study. Research limitations/implications The results have important implications for firms that produce carbon emissions disclosures, assurance service providers, legislators, regulators and the users of the reports and there should be more specific disclosure guidelines for level and scope of reporting. Originality/value Amongst the firms that do provide assurance on their carbon emissions reports, a majority do so using specialist assurance providers, with only limited assurance being provided. The results further show that a myriad of assurance frameworks is being used to assure the carbon emissions disclosures.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 385-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brett Fiebiger

As is well known, the closure of the canonical Neo-Kaleckian model is an endogenous rate of capacity utilisation. To allay concerns of Harrodian instability one response has been to endogenise the normal rate to effective demand pressures. Recent contributions have stressed microfoundations for an adjustment in the normal rate towards the actual rate. The new approach focuses on shiftwork and redefines capacity utilisation as the average workweek of capital. This paper examines whether the new concept of capacity utilisation can provide a firmer basis for endogeneity in the normal rate. It argues that the assumption of variability in the normal shift system cannot be generalised across manufacturing industries, while the potential relevance for non-manufacturing industries is unknown. Another concern is that long-run trends in the average workweek of capital and aggregate demand do not coincide. The paper also finds that the long-run trend in the US Federal Reserve's index of capacity utilisation for the manufacturing sector is not flat as frequently claimed. Instead, there is a downward trend from the mid 1960s, which matches the slowdown in aggregate demand.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 228
Author(s):  
Gholamreza Zandi ◽  
Muhammad Haseeb

In the present globalized world, production forms are progressively divided across nations. Consequently, domestic consumption in one nation is progressively fulfilled by worldwide supply chains. This spectacle has pulled policy and widespread intellectual discussions on the assignment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emanations, especially carbon dioxide (CO2) emission; these are accountabilities connected to global trade since worldwide trade causes net carbon dioxide emission. The aim of the present study is to examine the impact of trade liberalization on carbon dioxide emission. We used the panel data of 105 developed and developing countries from 1990 to 2017. The results of FMOLS and DOLS confirm that all variables are connected in the long-run period. The results of long run coefficient confirm that that the trade liberalization has a positive effect on environmental degradation and cause to increase environmental degradation. Likewise, economic growth and energy consumption has also a positive and significant impact on environmental degradation. However, we find an evidence of negative and significant impact of renewable energy utilization on environmental degradation. Finally, the results of heterogeneous panel causality confirm that there is a uni-directional causal relationship between trade liberalization and environmental degradation where causality is running from trade liberalization to environmental degradation. However, we find a bi-directional causal relationship of environmental degradation with energy utilization and renewable energy utilization in all selected developed and developing countries.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Siqi Xu ◽  
Yifeng Zhang ◽  
Xiaodan Chen

Although energy-related factors, such as energy intensity and energy consumption, are well recognized as major drivers of carbon dioxide emission in China, little is known about the time-varying impacts of other macrolevel nonenergy factors on carbon emission, especially those from macroeconomic, financial, household, and technology progress indicators in China. This paper contributes to the literature by investigating the time-varying predictive ability of 15 macrolevel indicators for China’s carbon dioxide emission from 1982 to 2017 with a dynamic model averaging (DMA) method. The empirical results show that, firstly, the explanatory power of each nonenergy predictor changes significantly with time and no predictor has a stable positive/negative impact on China’s carbon emissions throughout the whole sample period. Secondly, all these predictors present a distinct predictive ability for carbon emission in China. The proportion of industry production in GDP (IP) shows the greatest predictive power, while the proportion of FDI in GDP has the smallest forecasting ability. Interestingly, those Chinese household features, such as Engel’s coefficient and household savings rate, play very important roles in the prediction of China’s carbon emission. In addition, we find that IP are losing its predictive power in recent years, while the proportion of value-added of the service sector in GDP presents not only a leading forecasting weight, but a continuous increasing prediction power in recent years. Finally, the dynamic model averaging (DMA) method can produce the most accurate forecasts of carbon emission in China compared to other commonly used forecasting methods.


2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 657-675 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anand Jaiswal ◽  
Cherian Samuel ◽  
Chirag Chandan Mishra

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a traffic route selection strategy based on minimum carbon dioxide (CO2) emission by vehicles over different route choices. Design/methodology/approach The study used queuing theory for Markovian M/M/1 model over the road junctions to assess total time spent over each of the junctions for a route with junctions in tandem. With parameters of distance, mean service rate at the junction, the number of junctions and fuel consumption rate, which is a function of variable average speed, the CO2 emission is estimated over each of the junction in tandem and collectively over each of the routes. Findings The outcome of the study is a mathematical formulation, using queuing theory to estimate CO2 emissions over different route choices. Research finding estimated total time spent and subsequent CO2 emission for mean arrival rates of vehicles at junctions in tandem. The model is validated with a pilot study, and the result shows the best vehicular route choice with minimum CO2 emissions. Research limitations/implications Proposed study is limited to M/M/1 model at each of the junction, with no defection of vehicles. The study is also limited to a constant mean arrival rate at each of the junction. Practical implications The work can be used to define strategies to route vehicles on different route choices to reduce minimum vehicular CO2 emissions. Originality/value Proposed work gives a solution for minimising carbon emission over routes with unsignalised junctions in the tandem network.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 257-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lokpriya Gaikwad ◽  
Vivek Sunnapwar

PurposeThis article aims to explore synergies between Lean, Green and Six Sigma practices in order to propose an integrated LGSS framework for continuous and incremental improvement in the Indian manufacturing industries. The three-dimensional LGSS framework seeks to provide various combinations and support operational, financial, environmental and social needs.Design/methodology/approachIn the research method, first, the current problems faced by Indian manufacturing industries are considered and proposition of a conceptual framework that qualitatively integrates synergistic aspects of Lean, Green and Six Sigma practices, and second, the framework is checked by a survey taken from 203 Indian firms by using SPSS-AMOS.FindingsThe hypothesized result suggests that the positive impact of integrated practices on firm performance in terms of operational, financial, social and environmental outcomes. It also provides a systemic and holistic approach to problem-solving through constant and incremental enhancement in the manufacturing sector.Research limitations/implicationsIn this research, only Indian manufacturing industries have been studied but can be extending into different geographical areas and sectors. Future research is also possible for different behavior and characteristics of companies that can lead to recommending strategies on how companies can improve performance. Most importantly, future research can try to understand which specific practice can contribute to competitive advantage and business success.Practical implicationsManufacturing firms that want to improve environmental sustainability should implement integrated LGSS practices into their supply chain. The set of combined practices improves operational, social, economical and environmental benefits.Social implicationsThe research presents an integrated approach of LSS for the manufacturing industry which leads their business processes to achieve economic sustainability through continuous growth and improved operational efficiency. Manufacturing industries result in outcomes like reduced cost, lead time, improved quality, sustainable market position, profitability, customer satisfaction, etc.Originality/valueThis research is different from previous studies because it integrates Lean, Green and Six Sigma practices into a unique framework that fulfills a specific need of the Indian manufacturing sector that guides operational, social, environmental and financial issues in Indian industries.


2018 ◽  
Vol 63 (02) ◽  
pp. 389-407
Author(s):  
SANTOSH K. SAHU ◽  
DEEPANJALI MEHTA

This paper investigates determinants of energy and emission intensities of manufacturing firms in India, from 2000 to 2014. Given that Indian manufacturing sector is one of the world’s most polluting sectors in terms of CO2 emissions; we arrive at firm level determinants of energy and carbon dioxide emission intensities from consumption of three primary sources of energy, namely (1) Coal, (2) Natural Gas and (3) Petroleum. The results of the regression analysis suggest that there are inter-firm differences in energy and emission intensity. The results indicate that smaller and larger firms are both energy and emission intensive compared to medium sized firms. Similarly, firms spending more in research and development activities are found to be energy and emission efficient, compare to others. Hence, in the global competitive business environment, Government of India should carefully formulate policies suitable for the medium sized firms to make them energy and emission efficient.


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