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Sustainable Energy Economy under Technological Innovation and Environmental Planning

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Economic and Business Aspects of Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2023) | Viewed by 5560

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Suleman Sarwar

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Guest Editor

Finance and Economics Department, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Interests: energy economics; environmental economics; sustainable economic growth; energy finance; portfolio analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Lucía Morales

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Guest Editor

School of Accounting, Economics and Finance, Technological University Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Interests: international economics and finance; time series; economic and financial crises; energy economics; emerging economies; economic and financial contagion; Asian studies; economic development and sustainability; environmental economics; portfolio management
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Zouheir Mighri

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Finance and Economics Department, College of Business, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Interests: energy economics; environmental economics

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Carbon neutrality is essential because it can reduce the harmful effects of excessive carbon dioxide emissions, including climate change and global warming. Technological innovations and renewable energy are the keys to achieving carbon neutrality by reducing carbon emissions. Technological innovations help to curb carbon through eco-friendly products, processes, and equipment, whereas sustainable energy leads to a lower carbon footprint through lower life-cycle emissions. Additionally, technological innovation and renewables are essential for sustainable economic development due to their implication for the economy, environment, health, and enhanced lifestyle. Hence, research on technological innovation and sustainable energy open avenues towards environmental planning and sustainable economic development.

Technological innovations play a significant role in sustainable economic development with minimum harm to the environment. These innovations yield advanced energy-efficient technology that is less harmful to the environment, in support of the efforts toward carbon neutrality. Using advanced technology, carbon assimilation and capture can be enhanced, leading to more sustainable economic development and supporting carbon neutrality. Almost all sectors can benefit from technological innovations in improved production processes with eco-friendly equipment, ultimately helping to achieve carbon neutrality targets.

Energy demand is increasing rapidly to meet economic and social development, but the high usage of non-renewable sources such as fossil fuels makes it challenging to achieve carbon neutrality. There are multiple options to solve this issue, and sustainable energy is one of these, helping in sustainable economic development without deteriorating the environment. Renewable energy refers to clean energy derived from natural sources or through natural processes that continuously replenishes. Several sources for sustainable energy, including solar, wind, waste, and biomass, are promoted as cost-effective and eco-friendly. These energy sources reduce pollution and improve energy security. Additionally, climate change is eased along with the provision of low-cost energy, which helps meet both carbon neutrality goals and the Sustainable Development Goals. Sustainable energy helps in achieving carbon neutrality through a reduction in carbon emissions. It is a fact that as compared to fossil fuels, emission from renewable energy is significantly lower, which is an efficient path to carbon neutrality.

Meeting carbon neutrality goals through technological innovations and renewable energy sources is the main focus of this Research Topic. It will add to existing knowledge by putting forward valuable information for emerging and developing economies relating to carbon neutrality targets. Energy consumption is believed to be a significant contributor to environmental degradation. Hence, new forms of energy sources should be empirically checked if these can be used as an alternative, and this Research Topic aims to provide such analysis.

The topics to be covered in this Topic include carbon neutrality, technological innovations, renewable energy, sustainable economic development, and green energy. The Topic is an avenue towards discussion and empirical research on areas that can help economies to reach carbon neutrality goals through improved technology and environment-friendly energy sources.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

Technological innovations;
Sustainable energy;
Environmental planning;
Sustainable economic development;
Green energy.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Suleman Sarwar
Dr. Lucía Morales
Dr. Zouheir Mighri
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

environmental economics
green economics
sustainable energy economy
technological innovation
environmental planning

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 9205 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Forecasting Accuracy of Traditional Regression, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning: A Study of Environmental Emissions in Saudi Arabia

by Suleman Sarwar, Ghazala Aziz and Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente

Sustainability 2023, 15(20), 14957; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152014957 - 17 Oct 2023

Viewed by 803

Abstract

Currently, the world is facing the problem of climate change and other environmental issues due to higher emissions of greenhouse gases. Saudi Arabia is not an exception due to the dependence of the Saudi economy on fossil fuels, which adds to the problem. However, due to the nonlinear pattern of pollution-creating gases, including nitrogen and sulfur dioxide, it is not effortless to rely on forecasting accuracy. Nevertheless, it is essential to denoise the data to extract the reliable outcomes used by different econometric approaches. Hence, the current paper introduces a hybrid model combining compressed sensor denoising (CSD) with traditional regression, machine learning, and deep learning techniques. Comparing different hybrid models and various denoising techniques revealed that CSD-GAN is the best model for accurately predicting NO₂ and SO₂, as compared with ARIMA, RLS, and SVR. Also, when the comparison is made between predicted and actual NO₂ and SO₂ levels, these are aligned, proving that CSD-GAN is superior in its level and direction of prediction. It can be concluded that the GAN model is the best hybrid model for predicting NO₂ and SO₂ emissions in Saudi Arabia. Hence, this model is recommended to policymakers for predicting environmental externalities and framing policies accordingly. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Economy under Technological Innovation and Environmental Planning)

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Graphical abstract

19 pages, 2007 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of the Digital Economy on Industrial Eco-Efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) Urban Agglomeration

by Wenjing Zhang, Bin Sun, Zaijun Li and Suleman Sarwar

Sustainability 2023, 15(16), 12328; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612328 - 13 Aug 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1239

Abstract

Enhancing industrial eco-efficiency (IEE) represents an inherent imperative in the pursuit of green, low-carbon, and high-quality development. The burgeoning digital economy (DE) contributes to the digitization and intelligent integration and transformation of production and consumption, which contributes to enhancing economic efficiency and resource utilization efficiency while reducing carbon emissions and the environmental pollution associated with industrial production and providing important support for the ecological transformation of industries. In this context, using data from the YRD urban agglomeration and employing the Tobit model and the spatio-temporal correlation model, this study analyzes the impact of the digital economy on industrial eco-efficiency. The findings are as follows: (1) The correlation over time between IEE and the DE followed an inverted V-shaped trend, while the relationship between the DE and pure technical efficiency (PTE) exhibited a fluctuating W-shaped pattern. The spatial correlation revealed Zhejiang province as the primary concentration of positive correlation between the DE and both IEE and PTE. (2) The development of the DE had a significant positive impact on IEE, not only directly but also indirectly through promoting green technological innovation and advancing industrial structure. (3) The analysis of regional heterogeneity showed that the development of the DE in core cities played a catalytic role in improving IEE, whereas the impact of the DE on IEE was not significant in outer cities. This research not only offers new views on how to develop industry in more environmentally friendly ways, but it also sheds light on the real effects of the digital economy on high-quality urban development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Economy under Technological Innovation and Environmental Planning)

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19 pages, 353 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigating the Impact of Green Natural Resources and Green Activities on Ecological Footprint: A Perspective of Saudi Vision 2030

by Ghazala Aziz, Rida Waheed and Majid Ibrahim Alsaggaf

Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8639; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118639 - 26 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1247

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a deep understanding of the interactions between the ecological footprint, forest resources, land resources, environmental technology, and renewable energy consumption in Saudi Arabia. The study uses the data from 1980 to –2019 for econometric analysis. The findings of nonlinear ARDL estimates have reported the significance of forest and land resources to curtail the ecological footprint. Environmental technology and renewable energy empirical outcomes are insignificant in pre-Vision 2030 analyses, but become negative and significant in positive shock analyses. These results underscore that Saudi Vision 2030 has proposed workable and practical policies to address environmental challenges. Considering these findings, policymakers should implement beneficial policies that manage the country’s natural resources to reduce the ecological footprint and achieve the goals of Vision 2030. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Economy under Technological Innovation and Environmental Planning)

20 pages, 482 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Green Innovation, Sustainable Economic Growth, and Carbon Emission on Public Health: New Evidence of Non-Linear ARDL Estimation

by Ghazala Aziz

Sustainability 2023, 15(4), 2859; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042859 - 04 Feb 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1533

Abstract

This study examines the impact of green innovation, sustainable economic growth, and carbon emission on public health issues in Saudi Arabia. As Saudi Arabia is struggling to increase human development that also incorporates public health, it is important to understand the determinant factors and significant solutions to curtail public health issues. The study pioneers investigation into the role of green innovation aimed at countering public health problems caused by environmental damage. For econometric estimates, a non-linear autoregressive distributed lagged approach is used, which confirms that economic growth and carbon emissions are the main sources of public health issues in Saudi Arabia. Further, the empirical results demonstrate that greater attention to green innovation, education, and health spending plays a significant role in minimizing health issues. The positive shock in green innovation is helpful in terms of reducing public health issues. The findings are significant for policy suggestions; some recommendations are as follows: (i) The Saudi government needs to enhance funding in research and development to increase green innovation within the country. (ii) Education and health sector should be improved and increase it outreach throughout the country. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Energy Economy under Technological Innovation and Environmental Planning)

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