Revealing the effects of industrial structure upgrading and environmental technologies on environmental quality: Evidence from Asia

Amid Asia's unprecedented industrialization; resource depletion and increasing environmental pollution have become major obstacles to achieving sustainable development goals, particularly SDG 13. However, the influence of industrial upgradation and the development of environmental technologies on mitigating environmental degradation is often overlooked in Asia. Accordingly, this study examines the transformative potential of industrial structure upgrades and environmental technologies in enhancing environmental quality from a distinct perspective. It emphasizes inclusive indicators, such as the load capacity factor and ecological footprint, while considering the contributions of green financial development, green energy and human capital across 38 Asian economies from 1990 to 2019. To this end, the predictive coefficients are estimated using the Method of Moments quantile regression and the stability of the study's baseline findings is verified through the application of various parametric methods. The outcomes reveal that industrial structure upgrading, environmental-related technologies, green energy and human capital have favorable impacts on environmental quality, whereas financial development and economic growth have adverse impacts. However, green financial development deployment with environmental-related technologies has a cumulative positive effect on environmental conditions. Considering the overall findings, Asian economies should support the shift towards industrial structure advancements, promote collective efforts for green technologies, disseminate green energy, and direct green finances to areas of greatest benefit, including environmental technologies. Additionally, well-managed industrialization should be a key component of their environmental policies.