This paper investigates the asymmetric effects of fossil fuels, foreign direct investment (FDI), and globalization on the ecological footprint (EFP) in Mexico from 1975 to 2020. To this end, the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL), Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL), and the wavelet coherence approach are conducted. Based on the outcomes of the ARDL method, economic growth and fossil fuel consumption lead to ecological degradation, while foreign direct investment improves environmental conditions. Globalization has no impact on the environment. The NARDL approach illustrates that a positive shock to fossil fuels, FDI, and globalization degrades the environment. The wavelet coherence results emphasize the adverse environmental influence of economic growth and fossil fuels. These results imply that the Mexican government should conduct its economic expansion considering the principle of sustainable development. In this context, policymakers should propagate carbon taxes and similar instruments to promote clean energy sources that can replace fossil fuels and are compatible with sustainable development policies.

The excessive use of non-renewable energy in 21st-century economic growth has continued to hurt the environment by accumulating carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. However, promoting environmental sustainability requires expanding clean energy utilisation. In this study, we examine the effects of clean energy expansion and natural resource extraction on load capacity factor (LCF) in China from 1970 to 2018. Using the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag simulations approach, we extend the standard load capacity curve (LCC) hypothesis by incorporating clean energy expansion and natural resource extraction as main determinants of the LCF. The empirical outcomes reveal that economic expansion is, although positively associated with the LCF, but its squared term degrades the LCF. This confirms that the LCC hypothesis is not valid for China. Moreover, while clean energy expansion has a positive effect on the LCF, the effect of natural resource extraction is negative. These effects are stronger and statistically significant only in the long run. Therefore, this study highlights the potentials for a sustainable decarbonized economy in China by investing not only in clean energy sources but also efficiently use the available natural resources in the country.