The long-run and short-run influence of environmental pollution, energy consumption, and economic activities on health quality in emerging countries

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 26; pp. 32518 - 32532
• Main Authors: Anser, Muhammad Khalid, Hanif, Imran, Vo, Xuan Vinh, Alharthi, Majed
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Alternative energy sources; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Clean energy; Clean technology; Depletion; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic activity; Economic development; Economic growth; Economics; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Empirical analysis; Energy; Energy consumption; Energy utilization; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental effects; Environmental Health; Environmental quality; Environmental science; Fossil fuels; Green energy; Greenhouse gases; Greenhouses; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Households; Mortality; Natural resources; Pollution; Research Article; Residential energy; Resource depletion; Respiration; Respiratory diseases; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Asia; Energy consumption; R11; Mortality rate; Q5; Respiratory diseases; Emerging economies; Greenhouse gasses; Q52; R1
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-09348-1

This study investigates the effect of energy utilization, greenhouses gasses emissions, and economic activities on health risks such as mortality rate and incidence of respiratory diseases in emerging Asian economies. The study analyzes a panel data from 1995 to 2018 to examine the long-run and short-run influence of environmental pollution on health issues. The empirical findings highlight that greenhouse gasses emissions, fossil fuel consumption, and natural resources depletion in the region are key factors to increasing health risks in the long-run period, while the use of clean energy and improvement in per capita economic growth is helping to improve the health status of the households. In a short period, greenhouse gasses emission is the only significant factor responsible for the high mortality rate and occurrence of respiratory diseases in the emerging economies of Asia. According to the results, there is a need for government intervention programs to rescue the region from the negative effects of environmental pollution and the utilization of nonrenewable energy. In emerging Asian countries, the combustion of fossil fuels, environmental pollution, and limited access to clean energy are such factors responsible for high mortality rate and stimulating incidence of respiratory diseases in the individuals. The study suggests that alternative green energy can prove helpful to control greenhouse gasses emissions and to control health issues by improving environmental quality. The study further suggests that the use of clean energy from water, wind, and sunlight may prove helpful to meet the energy requirement at the domestic level and improve the health status of the individuals by reducing the incidence of respiratory diseases in emerging countries of Asia.