Effects of biomass energy consumption on environmental quality: The role of education and technology in Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation countries

Rising concern regarding traditional non-renewable energy consumption has led policymakers to explore the potential of economical renewable energy sources. In this regard, biomass energy has received considerable attention because previous studies have found mixed results regarding the effect of biomass energy on environmental quality. Together with modern technology, biomass energy may significantly influence environmental quality. This study investigates the impact of biomass energy consumption, education, and technological innovation on environmental quality by controlling for the role of economic growth and financial development in the function of environmental quality. Second-generation econometric methods were used to solve the issues of heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence in the study variables. The Westerlund and Edgerton (2008) cointegration technique confirmed the existence of a long-run equilibrium among the variables in the presence of structural breaks. The panel quantile regression results indicate that biomass energy use and technological innovation reduce environmental quality. Similarly, economic growth increases carbon emissions in the environment. Education and financial development contribute to reduce carbon emissions.