Issue #1 (Volume 13 2022)

This paper empirically analyze the effects of environmental taxes on economic growth using data spanning the period 2009–2019 across 31 European countries (28 from the European Union, including the UK before Brexit, Iceland and Norway, which are candidates to join the EU, and Switzerland). The selected countries are also members of the European Environmental Agency countries (EEA-32). Baseline scenario with Pooled Ordinary Least Squares leads to the evidence that an increase of the environmental taxes in case of any tax policy reform will exacerbate economic growth. Robustness checks by introducing more control variables in response to omitted variables bias, coupling with GMM estimations that control for endogeneity concerns, consistently confirm the results. Deeping more with quantile analysis regression, a negative effect is confirmed in each quantile, and the results are significant at 1%. Nevertheless, there is a discrepancy between each quantile that allows highlighting evidence of countries’ threshold effects. In fact, low-income countries are more negatively affected than upper and medium-income countries. As the official communication of the EU Commission is always in demand of empirical research concerning the economic impacts of environmental policy instruments, the paper sheds light on the possibility of discussing and adapting the EU strategy based on a harmonization system. This evidence of differentiated effects among countries’ thresholds in the absence of any compensation may raise equity considerations within heterogeneous countries. Therefore, this paper fulfills the gaps in the inconclusive results in the existing literature.

Acknowledgments
Authors would like to sincerely thank Ange Jusse Tchouto, Isaac Ketu, Arsene Mouongue Kelly for their invaluable support in this work, their helpful comments and suggestions on the previous draft of this paper. The usual disclaimer apply and views are the sole responsibility of the authors.

The paper analyzes the effects of introducing a corporate carbon tax on GDP and the effectiveness of this macroeconomic policy. The study is based on constructing a simple Keynesian model with flexible prices. It shows that the carbon tax can have a double beneficial effect on the economy in addition to its favorable effect on the environment: i.e., an increase in GDP and employment. The initial values (y = 100; C = 60; I = 18; G = 16; g(A) = 6) was used to simulate a positive shock of the carbon tax T, increasing from 1.75 to 1.9. The paper considers three different cases depending on the low (Case 1), medium (Case 2), or high (Case 3) sensitivity of the marginal propensity to consume in response to an increase in the prices of goods. In addition, case 4 is considered: stimulus policy associated with climate policy; and case 5 is: policy to increase nominal wages. The results show that the carbon tax can lead to an increase in prices. Although the tax does not excessively negatively affect consumption, it has a positive effect on GDP via the increase in green investments and the induced increase in public spending. Households are, therefore, not necessarily penalized because they benefit from the multiplier effects of the increase in public spending due to the introduction of the ecological tax. Furthermore, stimulus policy is even more effective when combined with an emissions tax.

The question of what energy form should guarantee firm productivity in the future is becoming increasingly important, considering the risk that the gradual depletion of the world’s non-renewable energy reserves poses to the continuity of productivity. This study aims to assess the effect of individual energy forms on productivity growth of manufacturing firms in Cameroon. This paper uses a two-stage stochastic frontier method to determine the energy form that is most likely to ensure the continuity of the productivity of manufacturing firms in Cameroon in the next few years. The data for the study came from the Annual Enterprise Surveys (EAE) conducted by the National Institute of Statistics of Cameroon (NIS) from 2012 to 2019. The analysis data constitute a panel of 288 representative firms. Factors that primarily explain firm productivity were value-added, renewable and non-renewable energy, capital, labor, and raw materials. The study analyzed the entire manufacturing industry, agri-food sector, and other manufacturing industries. Despite being a group estimate, individual firms are taken into account. Across the manufacturing industry in Cameroon, the results indicate that renewable energy is the most advantageous form. Indeed, this form would cause a 9.27% increase in productivity for a one percentage point increase. However, as the impact coefficients are insignificant, it is difficult to assess the contribution of non-renewable energy to firm productivity.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to sincerely thank Atanase Yene for his invaluable support in this work, helpful comments, and suggestions on the previous draft of this paper. The usual disclaimer applies, and views are the authors’ sole responsibility.

Green Sukuk is a source of financing that supports the SDGs. Climate change, the growth of the Islamic finance industry, and the rise of socially responsible investing could make green Sukuk a vital tool for financing clean energy and sustainable infrastructure projects. Many studies have identified its potential and advantages. However, no companies have issued green corporate Sukuk in Indonesia yet. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential and main problems of issuing corporate green Sukuk in Indonesia, along with possible solutions and strategies. The research method used is the analytic network process (ANP). In this study, respondents are experts in the field of green Sukuk (involved experts were from academia, project actors, and regulators). The results of the study indicate that the first destination that has the potential to be financed with green corporate Sukuk is renewable energy. At the same time, the main problem is the lack of understanding from market participants. In terms of solutions, the incentive provided by the government is the best to encourage the issuance of green corporate Sukuk. Moreover, the first strategy is to issue green corporate Sukuk with ijarah contracts. From the research results, it is hoped that the Indonesian government can be more aggressive in providing incentives to green project actors.

The concept of green manufacturing is a topical discourse in sustainability studies, but its adoption seems to be lagging due to an unclear link to financial performance. The study aims to test the relationship between green manufacturing and financial performance, with quality performance as a mediator and entrepreneurial orientation as a moderator. The partial least square (PLS) method was applied for hypotheses testing. Data were randomly obtained from 116 managerial staff in manufacturing firms operating in the polymer industry in Southern Nigeria. From the PLS results, green manufacturing is positively related to financial performance (β = 0.167, p = 0.027), and this relationship is mediated by quality performance (β = 0.194, p = 0.000) and moderated by entrepreneurial orientation (β = 0.115, p = 0.000). The results demonstrated that green manufacturing spurs financial performance directly. However, optimality can be achieved indirectly through quality performance and under generative conditions or behaviors effectuated by entrepreneurial orientation. In conclusion, quality performance and entrepreneurial orientation may account for the ways in which green manufacturing enhances financial performance significantly and positively.

Sustainability reporting has become a practice of the majority and is decided by boards of directors as the supreme governing body in the decision-making process of companies. The paper provides a high-view picture and visualizes research to portray the historical shifts in sustainability reporting nexus to corporate governance through an analysis utilizing CiteSpace software on 935 articles published in Web of Science Core Collection from 2009 to 2021.
The number of papers in the area has expanded, especially since 2013 (a branching point), while the study determines a type of bifurcation spot (the year 2017) that evinces the SR-CG field maturity. The study determined the dominant countries through affiliated to them researchers (the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, China and Australia), the most esteemed journals (Journal of Business Ethics, Business Strategy and the Environment and Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal), and the major co-occurrence of hot keywords (carbon disclosure project, environmental disclosure quality, integrated reporting, financial performance, foreign director, environmental reporting, public sector, sustainability assurance statement).
The paper identifies principal issues where SR-CG research lags (dearth of those research in developing economies and geographical limitation of research) and unravels uncharted so far domains (jurisdictions-related studies) in the realm. Future research in the realm is likely to focus on ESG, disclosures and governance performance, as well as on specific areas (geography, industry, etc.), and will explore in depth the role of multiple factors together. This papers indicate the growing convergence between SR and CG in literature, and given predominance of ‘SR as a function of CG’ approach a more stalwart and sound CG framework could bring about more tenable SR practices. The paper puts forward an agenda for advancing forthcoming research in the realm of SR-CG interdependence.

Acknowledgment
This paper is co-funded by European Union through the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) within the project “EU BEST PRACTICE OF LIFE CYCLE ASSESSMENT, SOCIAL, ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING” 101047667 — EULASTING — ERASMUS-JMO-2021-HEI-TCH-RSCH https://bit.ly/3Bbvquw

Global warming has been escalating along with its major damaging effects. One such effect is its negative impact on economic growth. This paper is premised on the fact that, in addition to its threats to economic growth, climate change can affect financial institutions unfavorably and become a significant cause of financial risk. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the nexus between the dynamics of biodiversity loss and financial system stability in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Using annualized data from World Bank indicators, the study adopted panel techniques. The panel data results indicate that carbon emission has no positive impact on bank non-performing loans in the short run. The findings strongly support that carbon emission in this region does not contribute significantly to financial instability in the short run. This shows that Africa may well be able to assist the world to counteract climate change by providing an essential carbon sink while resisting deforestation and effectively managing the continent’s marine resources. Based on the research findings, it is recommended that policymakers in SSA should promote economic activities that reduce climate fragility while ensuring sustainable economic development.

The economic impact of carbon emissions in Africa is gaining traction in the extant literature. This study adopted Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) to concomitantly track data on carbon emissions versus economic growth in Africa from 2018 to 2022 providing evidence from a meta-analysis. Through database searches, 591 publications were identified. A machine learning algorithm called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) was used as a visualization technique for reporting trends in the eleven papers selected for the analysis. Identifying, evaluating, and summarizing the findings of all relevant individual studies conducted in Africa on the impact of economic growth on carbon emissions contributes to the existing body of knowledge. This study fills a critical gap by surveying the studies conducted in Africa in the last five years, implying that economic growth negatively and significantly triggers CO2 emissions in Africa. The debate on the economic impact of CO2 emissions in Africa, the most vulnerable continent to climate change, is elucidated. The findings tracked sources of data for carbon emissions in Africa. The results showed that although some studies reported a positive correlation (and some a negative correlation) between economic growth and carbon emissions, most studies concur that the economic impact of carbon emissions over a timeline can be explained by the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Therefore, there is a dire need for African countries to strengthen economic growth without deteriorating their environment or having ecological footprint. Future research must assess whether this trend on the economic impact of carbon emissions in Africa continues.

Acknowledgment
The authors express their appreciation to the Durban University of Technology for providing the resources to conduct this study.

Most companies in emerging economies need to be more conscious of environmental initiatives such as environmental management accounting practices (EMAP) that can effectively improve environmental sustainability. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of EMAP on the environmental sustainability of listed South African cement and mining companies. To achieve the aim of the study, 45 Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed cement and mining companies were sampled based on data extracted from the annual integrated reports, financial statements, environmental and sustainability reports from 2012 to 2021. IBM SPSS Statistics 24 was used to analyze the relationship between EMAP and environmental sustainability. The results show that two environmental sustainability proxies, water consumption and recycled water, are significantly and positively related to EMAP. However, carbon emissions (p < .061) insignificantly influence environmental sustainability. This suggests that some EMAP used by the sampled companies are inadequate to amplify environmental sustainability. The paper is essential to provide empirical evidence that managers of the cement and mining companies in South Africa need to devise better and new EMAP to reduce carbon emissions.

Does it pay to report green activities? This question has dominated academic discussion and has further spiraled into the industry. Questions exist about the value relevance of carbon accounting, given that such practice is voluntary and consumes resources. The question becomes more legitimate when banks whose activities do not negatively affect the environment adopt carbon accounting. Given this perplexing phenomenon, the study examined the impact of carbon accounting on the performance of banks in East Africa. Moreover, the effect of management quality on such a relationship was analyzed. The study relied on eight years of integrated, sustainability, and annual reports of 79 banks in East Africa, collecting the carbon accounting data. A multiple regression estimation technique was employed to estimate the models. The study demonstrated that carbon reporting had a negative and insignificant relationship with the financial performance of banks. In addition, the study showed that management quality turned the relationship between carbon disclosure and firm performance positive, suggesting that the banks with high quality of management benefited financially from carbon reporting. The study concludes that carbon accounting does not benefit East African banks. However, banks that had high quality of management financially benefited from carbon accounting. The significant implication of these results is that banks can benefit from adopting carbon accounting but only when they have high management quality. This study contributes to the debate on the conflicting empirical findings on the value relevance of carbon accounting in Africa, which is scarce.

Many countries worldwide make efforts to decrease environmental degradation and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engage in such business operations. However, considering the Nigerian context, evidence on their impact is scarce. Therefore, this paper investigates the effect of green entrepreneurship on the performance of SMEs in North-Central Nigeria federal territory. A pre-test was conducted, and a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire was used. The study examined 1,233 consenting randomly chosen respondents from six states and Abuja City in North-Central Nigeria. Simple linear regression was used to test the hypotheses. The findings demonstrated that green entrepreneurship can decrease the negative impacts of business activities on the environment and also ensure profitability. Moreover, green entrepreneurial innovative production and green entrepreneurial inclination significantly impact competitive edge (β = 0.806, t-value= 49.648, P = 0.000 < 0.05) and customer spending (β= 0.976, t-value= 51.315, P = 0.000 < 0.05), respectively. The study offers useful public information and experimental confirmation of environmental sustainability engaged in viable business activities.

The most vital problems of humanity mentioned in SDGs are the consequences of climate change and biodiversity loss and problems with access to water and forest resources. Although there is a deep understanding of the problems, there are reasons that do not allow finding swift solutions, and the increasing funding gap for the relevant SDGs is one of them. This study aims to establish the connection between environmental protection investments and the achievement of environmentally oriented sustainable development goals across 31 European countries (26 EU Member States, 3 EFTA Countries, and Ukraine as a Candidate to EU). The paper employed the PLS-SEM approach. The obtained results proved that the accumulated amount of environmental protection investments does not have a statistically significant relationship with the integral indicators of SDG 6 “Clear water and sanitation,” SDG 13 “Climate action,” and SDG 15 “Life on land” (the coefficient of determination, the path coefficient, and the reliability coefficients were insignificant). The study of a similar relationship between the level and the directions of SDGs 6, 13, and 15 achievements also did not reveal any significant results. As the last step of the analysis, the hypothesis about a relationship between environmental protection investments and Environmental Performance Index components was also rejected. Therefore, the statistical significance and relevance of the analyzed indicators were not confirmed. Based on this, a conclusion was made about the insufficiency of investment resources for environmental protection to overcome the gap in achieving environmentally-oriented SDGs.

The adoption of biopolymer packaging materials to replace petroleum-based plastic packaging has become a global trend, which could reduce environmental impact and potential health threats. Therefore, the paper analyzes trends in organic packaging research and the prospects of its application. This study employs bibliometric methods to select relevant studies using a preset search string. The dynamics of publications, the most influential authors and articles, as well as the most productive institutions and countries on the topic for 2017–2022 were determined. To collect the data, Elsevier’s database Scopus was selected. The analysis revealed five salient research themes through text mining analysis: packaging and public health; packaging and children’s health safety; eco-friendly packaging and consumer behavior; food packaging and labeling; and packaging with a focus on marketing and advertising.
864 terms from 40 articles were analyzed. As a result, most selected publications focused on the impact of packaging on the environment. In addition, some publications consider it from the perspective of consumer safety. Moreover, consumers unconsciously associate organic packaging with products’ safety and quality. However, the marketing and advertising of organic packaging are insufficient, as well as the application of organic packaging in children’s food products.

Acknowledgment
The study was conducted within the framework of the ERASMUS+ Jean Monnet Project “Production and dissemination of circular economy ideas in accordance with the EU Action Plan.” Furthermore, Kseniia Bliumska-Danko gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Government of France within the framework of the PAUSE program (National Program of Urgent Assistance and Reception of Scientists).

Economic variables are dynamic in nature. This paper uses a simultaneous equation model to assess the complexity of the link between economic expansion and environmental deterioration in ASEAN. The study examines how CO2 emissions, economic growth, public health initiatives, and control factors interact using dynamic panel data from 2011 to 2020. The population, the amount of forested land, the use of renewable energy, foreign investment, the inflation rate, the total amount of foreign exchange reserves, and government health policies are just a few examples. In order to provide a reliable and accurate assessment of the long-term relationship, this study employs the generalized approach of the Arellano-Bond moment method. The econometric technique deals with the issues of nonstationary, endogeneity, cross-error correlation, and heteroscedasticity.
Additionally, the two stage least square (2SLS) method was used to assess the results’ robustness. According to the statistical results, there is a causal link between CO2 emissions and economic growth, and between CO2 emissions and energy consumption. Furthermore, according to the data, ASEAN CO2 emissions showed a monotonically growing relationship during the sample period. Policymakers may use these findings since they can aid in implementing economic measures to promote sustainable and ecologically friendly development.