The coronavirus outbreak firstly emerged from Wuhan, the economic hub of Hubei province, China, and within a short period, it appeared as a global threat. In response to the outbreak, COVID-19 has been declared as a global health emergency by the World Health Organization (WHO) on January 30, 2020. To contain the virus, the governments of the Coronavirus affected countries enforced lockdowns to ensure social distancing among the people. Additionally, people have been asked to use hand sanitizers, face masks, and gloves, etc. to prevent the effect of the disease. The lockdowns and excessive utilization of medical supplies around the globe has resulted in numerous positive and negative ecological impacts. Therefore, this study aims to review the existing literature on the environmental effects of COVID-19.

This research aims to identify the periodical impact of industrial development, renewable energy, economic growth, and gross capital formation on environmental deterioration in BRICS countries. The analytical procedure is based on the annual data from 1995 to 2020. The selected econometric methods which are used to determine the relationship among exogenous and endogenous variables are panel unit-root tests for stationarity check, Johansen co-integration test for co-integration relationship, and FMOLS and quantile regression for long-run relationship. The empirical research findings confirm a significant positive association of environmental deterioration with industrial development, GDP, and GCF, while a significant negative relationship was observed between CO₂ emission and renewable energy. The BRICS group of countries should be more focused on environmentally friendly technological development as they are concerned with economic growth. Renewable energy resources positively impact the environmental quality, so backward resources should be replaced with renewable energy resources to attain double impacts, that is, the reduction of CO₂ emission with the reduction of oldfangled resources and increase in the environmental quality with the aggrandizement of renewable energy resources. Based on key findings and implications of the sectorial and whole economic growth of BRICS countries, this research suggests some policy implications for reducing toxic CO₂ emissions and enhancing the quality of the environment.

Frequent shifts in economic policies not only inject uncertainty into the economic landscape but also pose significant challenges to corporate endeavors in green technological innovation. Drawing on a dataset of Chinese A-share listed companies spanning 2008 to 2020, this research delves into the repercussions of economic policy uncertainty on the green technological pursuits of manufacturing firms and elucidates the underlying dynamics at play. The empirical evidence underscores a marked reluctance among companies to champion green technological innovation in the face of economic policy ambiguity, a stance that holds water even after rigorous robustness checks. Delving into the mechanisms, the study pinpoints heightened financial constraints and a diminishing risk appetite within the managerial ranks as pivotal deterrents steering firms away from green innovation projects amidst such uncertainty. Intriguingly, the adverse interplay between economic policy uncertainty and green innovation is especially accentuated in firms marked by tenuous government–business affiliations, pronounced monopolistic inclinations, lax intellectual property safeguards, minimal pollution footprints, and a skewed labor-to-capital composition. This investigation augments the scholarly discourse on the nexus between economic policy volatility and corporate green innovation, shedding light on strategic imperatives for emerging economies as they chart out future environmental blueprints and cultivate a conducive milieu for green innovation.

Climatic variations and GHG emissions are the most debated issues of the current age economically, socially, politically and environmentally. An internationally legally binding treaty on climate change, the “Paris Agreement” is followed by G-8 countries to maintain environmental sustainability with green development. The research investigates the relationship of GHG emissions with renewable energy (RE), foreign direct investment (FDI), total population (TP), and trade (TR). The time span of 22 years is used for analytical purposes covering the period from 2000 to 2021 b y addressing the literary gap. The analytical procession found total population and trade increase GHG emissions because of its modern fundamental layers toxic human activities and polluted trade practices. The decreasing behavior toward GHG emissions has been determined by FDI and RE. The findings of this research have confirmed the long-run relationship among variables. They are evidence that the eco-innovative steps by G-8 countries significantly reduce GHG emissions directly or indirectly. Furthermore, the analytical outcomes indicate that innovative green development in renewable energy sector can reduce the GHG emissions pressure from this sector and contribute to net zero emissions. The extracting results have suggested policies for environmental practitioners and economic developers.