Abstract
This work aims to assess multidimensional energy poverty and energy efficiency for environmental policy measures using data envelopment analysis (DEA), a DEA-Like mathematical composite indicator applied on a dataset based on multiple sets of variables from South Asian economies. The multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) is computed to analyze the combining effects and energy poverty in these countries. Simultaneously, South Asia’s metropolitan areas’ population rose by 130 million between 2001 and 2011 and is projected to expand by approximately 250 million by 2030. The findings reveal that endogenous increasing population shocks account for about 72% of energy use. In contrast, the long-term effects of remittance revenue, economic growth, and urbanization on energy use are approximately 20%, 8.25%, and 0.03%, respectively. This work advocates more coordinated and innovative policies to eliminate energy poverty. It can act as a base for policymakers and government officials to make efficient policies and enforce them properly in the regional power sector. Policies should be designed around a smarter use of biomass for cooking, alternate sources for domestic energy production, increased programs for biomass-based cookstoves, and periodic regional-level energy database development.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data that support the findings of this study are openly available on request.
References
Ahmad M, Li H, Anser MK, Rehman A, Fareed Z, Yan Q, Jabeen G (2020) Are the intensity of energy use, land agglomeration, CO2 emissions, and economic progress dynamically interlinked across development levels? Energy Environ. https://doi.org/10.1177/0958305X20949471
Alemzero DA, Iqbal N, Iqbal S, Mohsin M, Chukwuma NJ, Shah BA (2020a) Assessing the perceived impact of exploration and production of hydrocarbons on households perspective of environmental regulation in Ghana. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:5359–5371. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10880-3
Alemzero DA, Sun H, Mohsin M, Iqbal N, Nadeem M, Vo XV (2020b) Assessing energy security in Africa based on multidimensional approach of principal composite analysis. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:2158–2171. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-10554-0
Anser MK (2019) Impact of energy consumption and human activities on carbon emissions in Pakistan: Application of stirpat model. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:13453–13463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04859-y
Anser MK, Zhang Z, Kanwal L (2018) Moderating effect of innovation on corporate social responsibility and firm performance in realm of sustainable development. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag 25:799–806. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1495
Anser MK, Alharthi M, Aziz B, Wasim S (2020a) Impact of urbanization, economic growth, and population size on residential carbon emissions in the SAARC countries. Clean Techn Environ Policy 22:923–936. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-020-01833-y
Anser MK, Hanif I, Alharthi M, Chaudhry IS (2020b) Impact of fossil fuels, renewable energy consumption and industrial growth on carbon emissions in Latin American and Caribbean economies. Atmosfera. https://doi.org/10.20937/ATM.52732
Anser MK, Yousaf Z, Nassani AA, Abro MMQ, Zaman K (2020c) International tourism, social distribution, and environmental Kuznets curve: evidence from a panel of G-7 countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:2707–2720. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-07196-2
Anser MK, Yousaf Z, Usman B, Nassani AA, Qazi Abro MM, Zaman K (2020d) Management of water, energy, and food resources: Go for green policies. J Clean Prod 251:119662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119662
Anser MK, Yousaf Z, Zaman K, Nassani AA, Alotaibi SM, Jambari H, Khan A, Kabbani A (2020e) Determination of resource curse hypothesis in mediation of financial development and clean energy sources: Go-for-green resource policies. Res Policy 66:101640. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101640
Asif M, Khan KB, Anser MK, Nassani AA, Abro MMQ, Zaman K (2020) Dynamic interaction between financial development and natural resources: Evaluating the ‘Resource curse’ hypothesis. Res Policy 65:101566. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2019.101566
Azzimonti M (2018) Partisan conflict and private investment. J Monet Econ 93:114–131. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmoneco.2017.10.007
Baloch ZA, Tan Q, Iqbal N, Mohsin M, Abbas Q, Iqbal W, Chaudhry IS (2020) Trilemma assessment of energy intensity, efficiency, and environmental index: evidence from BRICS countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:34337–34347. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09578-3
Bellos E (2018) Sustainable energy development: How can the tension between energy security and energy transition be measured and managed in South Africa? J Clean Prod 205:738–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.08.196
Chandio AA, Jiang Y, Rehman A, Twumasi MA, Pathan AG, Mohsin M (2020) Determinants of demand for credit by smallholder farmers’: a farm level analysis based on survey in Sindh, Pakistan. J Asian Bus Econ Stud. https://doi.org/10.1108/jabes-01-2020-0004
Chien F, Sadiq M, Kamran HW, Nawaz MA, Hussain MS, Raza M (2021) Co-movement of energy prices and stock market return: environmental wavelet nexus of COVID-19 pandemic from the USA, Europe, and China. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-12938-2
Gupta S, Gupta E, Sarangi GK (2020) Household Energy Poverty Index for India: an analysis of inter-state differences. Energy Policy 144:111592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.111592
He W, Abbas Q, Alharthi M, Mohsin M, Hanif I, Vinh Vo X, Taghizadeh-Hesary F (2020) Integration of renewable hydrogen in light-duty vehicle: nexus between energy security and low carbon emission resources. Int J Hydrog Energy 45:27958–27968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.06.177
IEA (2018) Electric power transmission and distribution losses (% of output). In: World Bank retrieved from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.LOSS.ZS. Accessed 03 Jan 2021
Ikram M, Mahmoudi A, Shah SZA, Mohsin M (2019a) Forecasting number of ISO 14001 certifications of selected countries: application of even GM (1,1), DGM, and NDGM models. Environ Sci Pollut Res. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04534-2
Ikram M, Sroufe R, Mohsin M, Solangi YA, Shah SZA, Shahzad F (2019b) Does CSR influence firm performance? A longitudinal study of SME sectors of Pakistan. J Glob Responsib 11:27–53. https://doi.org/10.1108/jgr-12-2018-0088
Iram R, Anser MK, Awan RU et al (2020) Prioritization of renewable solar energy to prevent energy insecurity: an integrated role. Singap Econ Rev 66:391–412. https://doi.org/10.1142/S021759082043002X
Jun W, Waheed J, Hussain H et al (2020) Working women and per capita household consumption expenditures; an untouched reality. Zb Rad Ekon Fak au Rijeci. https://doi.org/10.18045/zbefri.2020.1.35
Kamran HW, Pantamee AA, Patwary AK, Ghauri TA, Long PD, Nga DQ (2021) Measuring the association of environmental, corporate, financial, and social CSR: evidence from fuzzy TOPSIS nexus in emerging economies. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(9):10749–10762
Kao EH, Yeh CC, Wang LH, Fung HG (2018) The relationship between CSR and performance: evidence in China. Pac Basin Financ J 51:155–170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2018.04.006
Khanna RA, Li Y, Mhaisalkar S, Kumar M, Liang LJ (2019) Comprehensive energy poverty index: measuring energy poverty and identifying micro-level solutions in South and Southeast Asia. Energy Policy 132:379–391. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.05.034
Koehler DA, Spengler JD (2007) The toxic release inventory: fact or fiction? A case study of the primary aluminum industry. J Environ Manag 85:296–307. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.09.025
Legendre B, Ricci O (2015) Measuring fuel poverty in France: Which households are the most fuel vulnerable? Energy Econ 49:620–628
Lin K, Peng MYP, Anser MK, Yousaf Z, Sharif A (2020) Bright harmony of environmental management initiatives for achieving corporate social responsibility authenticity and legitimacy: glimpse of hotel and tourism industry. Corp Soc Responsib Environ Manag 28:640–647. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.2076
Liu J, Abbas Q, Alharthi M, Mohsin M, Rasul F, Iqbal N (2020a) Managerial policy and economic analysis of wind-generated renewable hydrogen for light-duty vehicles: green solution of energy crises. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:10642–10653. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11018-1
Liu X, Peng MYP, Anser MK, Chong WL, Lin B (2020b) Key teacher attitudes for sustainable development of student employability by social cognitive career theory: the mediating roles of self-efficacy and problem-based learning. Front Psychol 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01945
Ministry of Finance (2019) Economic Survey 2018/19 retrieved from https://global.oup.com/academic/product/economic-survey-2018-19-9780190124151?cc=us&lang=en&. Accessed 03 Jan 2021
Mohsin M, Zhou P, Iqbal N, Shah SAA (2018) Assessing oil supply security of South Asia. Energy 155:438–447. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ENERGY.2018.04.116
Mohsin M, Rasheed AK, Sun H, Zhang J, Iram R, Iqbal N, Abbas Q (2019) Developing low carbon economies: an aggregated composite index based on carbon emissions. Sustain Energy Technol Assess 35:365–374. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seta.2019.08.003
Mohsin M, Nurunnabi M, Zhang J, Sun H, Iqbal N, Iram R, Abbas Q (2020a) The evaluation of efficiency and value addition of IFRS endorsement towards earnings timeliness disclosure. Int J Financ Econ. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijfe.1878
Mohsin M, Taghizadeh-Hesary F, Panthamit N, Anwar S, Abbas Q, Vo XV (2020b) Developing low carbon finance index: evidence from developed and developing economies. Financ Res Lett:101520. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2020.101520
Mohsin M, Hanif I, Taghizadeh-Hesary F, Abbas Q, Iqbal W (2021a) Nexus between energy efficiency and electricity reforms: a DEA-based way forward for clean power development. Energy Policy 149:112052. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2020.112052
Mohsin M, Kamran HW, Nawaz MA, Hussain MS, Dahri AS (2021b) Assessing the impact of transition from nonrenewable to renewable energy consumption on economic growth-environmental nexus from developing asian economies. J Environ Manag 284:111999
Munda G, Nardo M (2009) Noncompensatory/nonlinear composite indicators for ranking countries: A defensible setting. Appl Econ 41:1513–1523. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840601019364
Nawaz MA, Hussain MS, Kamran HW, Ehsanullah S, Maheen R, Shair F (2020) Trilemma association of energy consumption, carbon emission, and economic growth of brics and oecd regions: Quantile regression estimation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 1-15
Nawaz MA, Seshadri U, Kumar P, Aqdas R, Patwary AK, Riaz M (2021) Nexus between green finance and climate change mitigation in n-11 and brics countries: Empirical estimation through difference in differences (did) approach. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(6):6504–6519
Nepal R, Paija N (2019) Energy security, electricity, population and economic growth: the case of a developing South Asian resource-rich economy. Energy Policy 132:771–781. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.05.054
Nikolaidis P, Poullikkas A (2017) A comparative overview of hydrogen production processes. Renew Sust Energ Rev 67:597–611
Poudineh R, Sen A, Fattouh B (2020) An integrated approach to electricity sector reforms in the resource rich economies of the MENA. Energy Policy 138:111236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.111236
Reig-Martínez E, Gómez-Limón JA, Picazo-Tadeo AJ (2011) Ranking farms with a composite indicator of sustainability. Agric Econ 42:561–575. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-0862.2011.00536.x
Rogelj J, Popp A, Calvin K V., et al (2018) Scenarios towards limiting global mean temperature increase below 1.5 °C. Nat Clim Chang 8(4):325–332
Sadath AC, Acharya RH (2017) Assessing the extent and intensity of energy poverty using Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index: empirical evidence from households in India. Energy Policy 102:540–550. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2016.12.056
Sadiq M, Singh J, Raza M, Mohamad S (2020) The impact of environmental, social and governance index on firm value: evidence from Malaysia. Int J Energy Econ Policy 10(5):555–562
Sarker SA, Wang S, Mehedi Adnan KM et al (2020) Economic viability and socio-environmental impacts of solar home systems for off-grid rural electrification in Bangladesh. Energies. https://doi.org/10.3390/en13030679
Shair F, Shaorong S, Kamran HW, Hussain MS, Nawaz MA (2021) Assessing the efficiency and total factor productivity growth of the banking industry: do environmental concerns matters? Environ Sci Pollut Res:1–17
Shuai S, Fan Z (2020) Modeling the role of environmental regulations in regional green economy efficiency of China: empirical evidence from super efficiency DEA-Tobit model. J Environ Manag 261:110227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110227
Sinha A, Shahbaz M (2018) Estimation of environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 emission: role of renewable energy generation in India. Renew Energy 119:703–711. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2017.12.058
Sokołowski MM (2019) When black meets green: A review of the four pillars of India’s energy policy. Energy Policy 130:60–68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.03.051
Sokołowski J, Lewandowski P, Kiełczewska A, Bouzarovski S (2020) A multidimensional index to measure energy poverty: the Polish case. Energy Sources, B Econ Plan Pol 15:92–112. https://doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2020.1742817
Sun HP, Tariq G, Haris M, Mohsin M (2019) Evaluating the environmental effects of economic openness: evidence from SAARC countries. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26:24542–24551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05750-6
Sun H, Awan RU, Nawaz MA, Mohsin M, Rasheed AK, Iqbal N (2020) Assessing the socio-economic viability of solar commercialization and electrification in south asian countries. Environ Dev Sustain 1-23
Sun H, Pofoura AK, Adjei Mensah I, Li L, Mohsin M (2020a) The role of environmental entrepreneurship for sustainable development: evidence from 35 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Sci Total Environ 741:140132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140132
Sun H, Awan RU, Nawaz MA, Mohsin M, Rasheed AK, Iqbal N (2020b) Assessing the socio-economic viability of solar commercialization and electrification in south asian countries. Environ Dev Sustain 1-23
Sun L, Cao X, Alharthi M, Zhang J, Taghizadeh-Hesary F, Mohsin M (2020c) Carbon emission transfer strategies in supply chain with lag time of emission reduction technologies and low-carbon preference of consumers. J Clean Prod 264:121664. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121664
Tan S, Yang J, Yan J, Lee C, Hashim H, Chen B (2017) A holistic low carbon city indicator framework for sustainable development. Appl Energy 185:1919–1930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.03.041
Tehreem HS, Anser MK, Nassani AA, Abro MMQ, Zaman K (2020) Impact of average temperature, energy demand, sectoral value added, and population growth on water resource quality and mortality rate: it is time to stop waiting around. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27:37626–37644. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09822-w
United Nations (2013) World Economic and Social Survey 2013. Retrieved from https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/world-economic-and-social-survey-2013-sustainable-development-challenges.html. Accessed 03 Jan 2021
United Nations Development Programme (2019) Human development report 2019. Retrieved from http://hdr.undp.org/en/2019-report. Accessed 03 Jan 2021
Wasif Rasheed HM, Anser MK (2017) Effect on brand loyalty in mobile phone purchasing (a case study In Bahawalpur, Pakistan). J Public Adm Gov 7. https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v7i1.11042
World Bank (2019) Global Investment Competitiveness Report 2019-2020. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/33808. Accessed 02 Jan 2021
Xu Y, Chen Z, Peng MYP, Anser MK (2020) Enhancing consumer online purchase intention through gamification in China: perspective of cognitive evaluation theory. Front Psychol 11. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.581200
Yang Z, Abbas Q, Hanif I, Alharthi M, Taghizadeh-Hesary F, Aziz B, Mohsin M (2021) Short- and long-run influence of energy utilization and economic growth on carbon discharge in emerging SREB economies. Renew Energy 165:43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2020.10.141
Yousaf S, Anser MK, Tariq M, Sahibzada Jawad SUR, Naushad S, Yousaf Z (2020) Does technology orientation predict firm performance through firm innovativeness? World J Entrep Manag Sustain Dev 17:140–151. https://doi.org/10.1108/WJEMSD-11-2019-0091
Zhang J, Alharthi M, Abbas Q, Li W, Mohsin M, Jamal K, Taghizadeh-Hesary F (2020) Reassessing the environmental kuznets curve in relation to energy efficiency and economic growth. Sustain. 12. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208346
Zhou P, Ang BW, Poh KL (2007) A mathematical programming approach to constructing composite indicators. Ecol Econ 62:291–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2006.12.020
Zhou P, Delmas MA, Kohli A (2017) Constructing meaningful environmental indices: a nonparametric frontier approach. J Environ Econ Manag 85:21–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeem.2017.04.003
Funding
This research did not receive any specific funding from public, commercial or non-profit sector funding agencies.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Wu Baijun: conceptualization, data curation, methodology, writing—original draft. Liu Shaochen: data curation, visualization. Wang Jingwei: visualization, supervision, editing. Shaharuddin Tahir: review and editing. Ataul Karim Patwary: review and editing and software.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
N/A.
Consent for publication
We do not have any individual person’s data in any form.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Roula Inglesi-Lotz
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wu, B., Liu, S., Wang, J. et al. Assessing the mechanism of energy efficiency and energy poverty alleviation based on environmental regulation policy measures. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 40858–40870 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13605-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13605-2