The demand for renewable energy is increasing globally due to concerns about climate change, pollution, and the finite nature of fossil-fuel resources, and renewable energy has been recognized as a significant factor in realizing sustainable development. The government of Saudi Arabia adopted the reduction in fossil-fuel subsidies policy as a financial motivation for supporting both the production and consumption of fossil fuels. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the influence and shocks of Saudi financial development indicators on renewable energy consumption (REC) and to examine the track of causality between financial development indicators and REC. The study covers the annual data period of 1990–2021 and applies the Basic Vector Autoregressive model (VAR), the Granger causality test, forecast-error variance decomposition (FEVD), and the impulse response function (IRF). In the short run, the VAR results indicate a positive and significant impact of stock price volatility and private credit on REC. The results of causality between REC and financial development indicators were conflicting. The Granger causality test shows significant causality running from stock price volatility and private credit to REC. The FEVD results reveal that REC variation is explained by its innovative shocks and has a positive response to shocks in financial development. The IRF results show that REC has a positive response to shock on private credit, liquid liabilities, and stock price volatility. Authorities can encourage investment in renewable energy consumption by providing financial incentives; also, governments can foster national and international partnerships between investors, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. Employing different determinants of financial development indicators and incorporating population factors in the REC function will be highly recommended for forming the renewable energy demand in Saudi Arabia. Conducting a micro-level analysis of specific sectors within renewable energy, such as solar, wind, and others, can provide actionable insights for policymakers.

The rising global demand for food and energy has led to growing attention to the nexus between food security and renewable energy. This study aims to investigate the impacts and shocks of renewable energy consumption, particularly solar and wind energy, on food availability and stability in Saudi Arabia, by assessing both short-term and long-term effects. We use the time series annual data covering the period (2000–2022) analyzed by applying the Vector Autoregressive (VAR) model system and its environment, Granger causality, the forecast-error variance decompositions (FEVD), and the impulse response functions (IRFs). The VAR results indicated that wind renewable energy positively affects food availability; one unit of wind energy consumption will significantly increase food availability by 3.16% (Z value 2.017 at a 5% significance level), and no statistically significant coefficients are associated with food stability. Also, the results confirmed that one unit of renewable energy consumption from solar will significantly increase food stability by 36.5% in Saudi Arabia (Z-value 1.682 at a 10% significance level). The Granger causality results concluded that solar energy has a bidirectional Granger causality with food availability but not food stability. The FEVD results showed that solar energy shocks have more persistent impacts in explaining the rapid increase in food security than wind energy shocks in both the short and long term. The IRFs concluded that food availability has shown a positive and steady increase in response to wind energy. This study provides practical recommendations for policymakers to balance energy transition goals with food security concerns. Future research should explore emerging technologies in wind and solar energy that can enhance efficiency and sustainability while minimizing adverse effects on food security.

Purpose. This research aims to identify the challenges of the food security indicators in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries for the period 2000–2020. Methodology / approach. The dataset of this study includes the annual secondary data covering the time 2000–2019 of the six GCC countries. The dependents variables represent the food security indicators whereas, the independents variables (explanatory) represent the challenging factors of the food security at the macro-level data. All the studied variables are reshaped in the balanced panel form; thus, the study uses a long panel, it has many periods (T = 20 years) but few entities (n = 6 countries of GCC) with the total 120 observation. The study applies three alternatives to panel data analysis. Results. The results show that population is a significant driver of food security challenges in the GCC countries. Moreover, food price inflation has a significant impact on the food availability and stability but show no significance on food access and utilization. Fertilizer consumption causes significant problems with food use. The results show that there is an evidence of significant differences in food security across the GCC countries. The random-effects estimators of regression coefficients of food availability and stability challenges are more statistically efficient than those for pooled ordinary least square and fixed effects. While the fixed effects estimators are most preferred for the coefficients of food access and utilization challenges. Originality / scientific novelty. Most scientific articles are mostly focused on examining the food security challenges from one separate aspect: economics, climate, or social aspects. Thus, the scientific novelty of the study is to investigate the combination of the food security challenges, social, economic, and agri-environmental factors in the GCC oil countries. Practical value / implications. Through this research, it is proposed that decision-makers embark on interferences that stimulate food security to meet the continual increase in population also future research should be applied to the other factors that challenged food security.

Dairy farming plays a crucial role in Saudi Arabia’s agricultural industry. However, the intensive milk production process exerts pressure on local water and energy resources. This study aims to examine the impact of water stress and renewable energy consumption shocks on milk production in Saudi Arabia by using data from 2000 to 2021. The empirical analysis used the VAR model, Granger causality, forecast error variance decompositions (FEVDs), and impulse response functions (IRFs). The presence of a negative significant interdependence between total milk production and water stress levels in agriculture was observed. Significant bidirectional causality relationships among the variables were noted. The FEVD results show that water stress levels in agriculture are becoming a more dominant driver of variations in total milk production in Saudi Arabia, while the empirical evidence of the IRFs implies that milk production increases when both water stress levels and renewable energy are present. The adoption of water recycling and reuse systems on dairy farms can help farmers to improve water use efficiency. The encouragement of decision makers to formulate policies to support sustainable water resource management, reduce environmental impact, accelerate technological advancements, and initiate positive socioeconomic outcomes for the dairy industry is highly recommended.

Purpose. This study examines the causal relationship between total expenditures and food availability and identifies their shocks in food availability in Saudi Arabia. Methodology / approach. The study uses a multivariate modeling technique of the Vector Autoregression (VAR) and its environment, the Granger Causality Test, Forecast Error Variance Decomposition (FEVD), and Impulse Response Function (IRF) for the observation period of 2000–2020 in Saudi Arabia. Results. The results of the Granger causality show that investment expenditure has a significant impact on food availability in Saudi Arabia. However, consumption and government expenditures do affect food availability in Saudi Arabia, but have an indirect effect. The Impulse Response Functions show that the shocks of the selected variables require a long period to reach the long-run equilibrium level and the greatest response of the food availability variable is explained by its own shock and investment expenditure shocks. Originality / scientific novelty. The novelty of this study is related to the investigation of a new model and focus on a new perspective. While traditional food security research has mostly concentrated on agricultural production, availability, and accessibility of food, as well as nutrition and health outcomes factors, this research conveys a new dimension by highlighting the link between total expenditure and food security. Their contribution expands the scope of food security research and highlights the impact of recognising the role of total expenditure in implementing and supporting food security at the household level. Practical value / implications. It is important to design strategies and develop a budgeting plan to allocate a reasonable portion of total consumption and government expenditures on food items. Adding, regularly reviewing, and adapting the budgeting plan based on new challenges, and evolving priorities are essential to address the dynamic nature of food security.