Moderation of ecological footprint with FDI and agricultural sector for a better environmental performance: New insight from Nigeria

• Published date: 01 May 2022
• Author: Edmund Ntom Udemba
• Date: 01 May 2022
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2444

ACADEMIC PAPER

Moderation of ecological footprint with FDI and agricultural

sector for a better environmental performance: New insight

from Nigeria

Edmund Ntom Udemba

Faculty of Economics Administrative and

Social science, Istanbul Gelisim University,

Istanbul, Turkey

Correspondence

Edmund Ntom Udemba, Faculty of Economics

Administrative and Social science, Istanbul

Gelisim University, Istanbul, Turkey.

Email: eddy.ntom@gmail.com;

eudemba@gelisim.edu.tr

Following the fact that above average contribution to the Nigerian economic growth

come from petroleum industry and agriculture which are dominated by multinational

companies, the author undertakes the task to unveil the level of emission from these

sectors. The current paper adopts FDI and agricultural sector as among the vital indi-

cators in determining the position of Nigeria in climate change. This study builds on

the ecological footprint in accounting for environmental performance of Nigeria.

Basic contribution of this paper is in its two-stage analyses of ARDL regression and

causality with both ecological based and growth based models. This unveils both the

economic and ecological footprint implication to the environment. The findings of

this paper are: a positive (elasticity) relationship between economic growth (GDP)

and ecological footprint is established in both the short run and long run. Negative

and significant relationship is uncovered between FDI and ecological footprint. Nega-

tive association between agricultural sector and ecological footprint in both long run

and sort run. The relationship that exist between these variables (energy use and

population) and ecological footprint are positive which means unfavorable implication

to the environmental performance. Moreover, the findings according to Granger cau-

sality are: a uni-directional causality passing from economic growth to ecological

footprint, from energy use to ecological footprint, and also from population to eco-

logical footprint. Also, a one-way transmission is established amongst economic

growth and energy use, and between economic growth and population. This is in

conformity with the expectations of the author, and has established a nexus among

the selected variables (population and energy transmitting to economic growth, while

economic growth and energy transmitting to ecological footprint). With these find-

ings especially from FDI and agriculture, the authorities of the country are expected

to build a sustainable policy framework in promoting, regulating and sustaining the

trend with mindset of maintaining a healthy environment.

1|INTRODUCTION

The recent global development in the areas of climate changes and

environmental degradations that are considered sparks to the global

warming. A target has been placed on countries by United Nations

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change come 2050 for the cut of

carbon emissions. This has drawn massive attention and contribution

from different scholars towards ameliorating the problem pose to the

entire globe. Nigeria is named one of the top six greenhouse gas emit-

ters in Africa, but the more commendable effort from the country

which is the ratification of 2015 Paris Agreement has shown its effort

towards emission control. In the case of Nigeria involvement in

Received: 16 May 2020 Revised: 12 June 2020 Accepted: 16 August 2020

DOI: 10.1002/pa.2444

J Public Affairs. 2022;22:e2444. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa © 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd 1of13

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.2444