Article 2025 · 13 citations

A novel panel of European economies pursuing carbon neutrality: Do current climate technology and renewable energy practices really pass through the prism of sustainable development?

Caglar, Abdullah Emre, Dastan, Muhammet, Ahmed, Zahoor, Mert, Mehmet, Avci, Salih Bortecine

Abstract

Given the European Union's initiatives to embrace cutting-edge technologies and transition to greener energy sources, it is imperative to assess the influence of climate technology and renewable energy utilization on the environmental sustainability of its member states. This study contributes to the existing body of literature by undertaking a novel assessment of the implications of climate technology and renewable energy consumption on load capacity factor, one of the most encompassing environmental sustainability indicators. To this end, the study examines data from 1990 to 2021 employing the "Continuously Updated Fully Modified" (Cup-FM) and "Continuously Updated and Bias-Corrected" (Cup-BC) approaches, concentrating on the five most attractive European Union countries for renewable energy: Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The paper also considers the ecological impacts of economic growth, foreign direct investment, and urbanization. The results reveal a negative relationship between climate technology and ecological quality. While renewable energy consumption exhibits a positive but statistically insignificant association with ecological well-being, economic growth, foreign direct investment, and urbanization are found to have detrimental effects on ecological quality. In opposition to widely held claims, these striking observations suggest that renewable energy consumption and climate technology are not yet well equipped to fight the global climate battle. The underlying reasons behind these outcomes are thoroughly discussed, and strategies targeting Sustainable Development Goals 7 and 13 are proposed to catalyze advancements in research and development of cleaner energy and green technologies for a sustainable future.

Keywords

Renewable energy Climate technology Load capacity factor Renewable energy country attractiveness index Sustainable development goals FOREIGN DIRECT-INVESTMENT CO2 EMISSIONS EVIDENCE IMPACTS GROWTH URBANIZATION FOOTPRINT

WoS Categories

Geosciences, Multidisciplinary

Sustainable Development Goals

Decent Work and Economic Growth Responsible Consumption and Production Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure Climate Action Affordable and Clean Energy

Citation

Journal: GONDWANA RESEARCH
Year: 2025
Volume: 139
Pages: 260-271
ISSN: 1342-937X
eISSN: 1878-0571
DOI: 10.1016/j.gr.2025.01.001
WoS UID: WOS:001413899600001

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