Research Information System
JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, vol.390, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Environmental degradation, closely tied to climate change, remains a pressing global challenge that requires comprehensive and multidimensional analysis. Although numerous studies have independently examined the roles of renewable energy, healthcare expenditures, and trade in environmental outcomes, their joint influence remains underexplored—particularly within OECD countries. This study fills this gap by investigating (a)symmetric effects of renewable energy consumption, healthcare expenditures, and exports on environmental degradation for 37 OECD countries from 2000 through 2020. Using the NARDL approach as the primary methodology, complemented by panel ARDL for robustness, the analysis captures both the direction and asymmetry of long run relationships. The results indicate that increases in renewable energy use and healthcare expenditures significantly reduce CO2 emissions, while export growth contributes to higher emissions. Moreover, asymmetric effects are evident: positive and negative shocks in all three variables produce differing magnitudes and directions of impact on environmental outcomes. These findings suggest that fostering renewable energy development can be an effective strategy for directly mitigating environmental degradation. Additionally, the evidence implies that countries may be reducing carbon emissions indirectly to control rising healthcare expenditures associated with pollution-induced health risks. On the other hand, export-driven production must be aligned with sustainable practices.