Natural resources, renewable energy-environment nexus for Pakistan: A policy perspective

In most studies, CO2 emission is considered one of the most significant indicator of environmental degradation. Similarly, in recent studies, ecological footprints have been found to be an effective indicator of environmental degradation due to their multiple impacts on the environment. Considering this, this study examines the fluctuations in CO2 emissions and ecological footprint in Pakistan from 1990 to 2018 and how natural resources, renewable energy, GDP, and population influenced them. In addition, the unique aspect of our study is that we estimated the impact of positive and negative shocks in NRs and RE on environmental degradation using the NARDL approach. The findings of NARDL indicate that both NRs and RE had an asymmetric impact on environmental quality. The coefficient of GDP was found to be positive with EFP and CO2. Furthermore, the role of cross terms (GDP*NRs and GDP*RE) negatively affects EFP while positively affecting CO2 emissions. Finally, policies are discussed for theory and practice.