On the asymmetric effects of premature deindustrialization on CO2 emissions: evidence from Pakistan

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 27; no. 12; pp. 13692 - 13702
• Main Authors: Ullah, Sana, Ozturk, Ilhan, Usman, Ahmed, Majeed, Muhammad Tariq, Akhtar, Parveen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Asymmetry; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Carbon dioxide; Carbon Dioxide - analysis; Carbon dioxide emissions; Deindustrialization; Earth and Environmental Science; Economic Development; Ecotoxicology; Emissions; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Pollution - analysis; Environmental science; Human capital; Industrial Development; Industrialization; Nonlinear control; Pakistan; Research Article; Urbanization; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Pakistan; Urbanization; Industrialization; GDP; Pakistan; CO2 emissions; NARDL approach
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-020-07931-0

In this modern era, environmental pollution is the biggest problem attached to industrialization. This study tries to ensure the relationship between industrialization and CO2 emissions in Pakistan for the time period 1980–2018 by using nonlinear ARDL model while controlling for urbanization, GDP, and human capital variables as a likely factor of CO2 emissions. Our foremost study objective is to examine whether or not the outcome of industrialization on CO2 emissions is symmetric or asymmetric for Pakistan that is one of the core suppliers to CO2 in South Asia, as the emissions were 0.82 million tons in 2018. Our result approves the presence of an asymmetric effect of industrialization shocks on CO2 emissions both in the short run and long run. The results reveal that industrialization increases emissions and deindustrialization decrease emissions, in short as well as long run, in Pakistan. Moreover, our finding also advises that urbanization and GDP variables have exerted a positive impact on CO2 emissions. Based on the findings, some policy suggestions are proposed for Pakistan.