Narrow Results

Electricity production and consumption can be considered as one of the most important factors and necessities in the growth and development of any country. To generate electricity, it is necessary to build power plants. Due to the high exchange rate and the high cost of construction and operation of any new power plant in the electricity industry, it is necessary to select these power plants based on a wide range of criteria. In this research, using economic, environmental, technical, and social criteria, different power plants in Iran are prioritised using Vlse Kriterijumska Optimizacija Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) fuzzy hierarchical analysis methods for the 2018–2040 period. Indicators of environmental pollution, initial investment per unit of electricity generated, maintenance costs, accessibility, public acceptability, and the possibility of developing and increasing capacity were the main indicators affecting the prioritisation of power plants in Iran. In general, according to all the indicators studied in this study, the level of environmental pollution has the greatest impact on the prioritisation of power plants. Also, the indicators related to the amount of initial investment per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated, maintenance costs, the possibility of expanding and increasing the capacity, and the possibility of easy access to spare parts were the most important factors. The results of multicriteria decision prioritisation show that solar power plants are the first option for the strategic choice of power plants, and wind farms and small-scale biomass are in the next priorities. Therefore, it is suggested that the government and policy institutions, according to the prioritisation of power plants, create the necessary infrastructure to exploit these energies.

This paper discusses the effects of green technology innovation, renewable energy consumption and renewable energy investment on environmental quality. Panel data covering 81 countries from 2001 to 2020 are used to estimate the effects. The results indicate the following: First, at the total sample level, the effect of green technology innovation, renewable energy consumption and renewable energy investment on Carbon dioxide (CO${}_2)$ emissions is significantly negative at the level of 10–1%; Second, at the subsample level, the green technology innovation and renewable energy consumption of non-Belt and Road (B&R) and high-income countries significantly affect CO₂ emissions; while the green technology innovation and renewable energy consumption of middle- and low-income and B&R countries have no significant effect on CO₂ emissions; Third, the endogeneity and robustness tests of the model verified that this empirical process is credible. Based on the above results, this paper proposes a series of policy implications needed to achieve carbon emission reduction and environmental quality improvement.

The use of fossil fuels, which is still seen as the cheapest energy source today, has increased carbon emissions and contributed to the formation of greenhouse gases, and this gas has reached levels that threaten world health. While studies on this problem often question the relationship between production volume, energy use, and carbon emissions, few studies question the effects of the financial assets, which are the providers of investments made for production purposes, on environmental degradation. This study used the fixed effect model and system GMM technique to analyse the moderating effect of green finance in connection to financial openness and environmental quality from 2015 to 2020 in the CEE countries. Findings show, among other things that (1) CO₂ in CEE countries is still growing; (2) financial openness is a positive and significant indicator of CO₂ emission; and (3) that green finance usage reduces the positive impact of financial openness on CO₂ emissions. The study suggests that financial openness, renewable energy (RE) investment, and green technology innovation (GTI)– consistently drive CO₂ emissions in CEE countries. The study suggests that policies promoting green finance, particularly RE investment and GTI, can help mitigate environmental degradation and reduce CO₂ emissions.