Examining the Impact of Economic Globalization on Environmental Degradation in Saudi Arabia

Zakia Seid Benzerrouk (), Mehdi Abid (), Mohamed Ghandri (), Noureddine Hamed () and Fathi Ahmed Ali Adam ()
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Zakia Seid Benzerrouk: Department of Accounting, College of Business, Jouf University, Skaka, Saudi Arabia
Mehdi Abid: Department of Finance and Investment, College of Business, Jouf University, Skaka, Saudi Arabia
Mohamed Ghandri: Department of Business, Business College, University of Bisha, Bisha, Saudi Arabia
Noureddine Hamed: Department of Finance and Investment, College of Business, Jouf University, Skaka, Saudi Arabia
Fathi Ahmed Ali Adam: Department of Finance and Investment, College of Business, Jouf University, Skaka, Saudi Arabia; & Department of Economics, faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, University of Zalingei, Sudan.

International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 2026, vol. 16, issue 2, 598-607

Abstract: Environmental degradation has emerged as a pressing global challenge that requires continuous empirical assessment, motivating researchers to examine it. To this end, this study examines the asymmetric impact of globalization, economic growth and trade openness on the CO2 emissions in the presence of environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in Saudi Arabia for the 1970 -2022 period. In order to investigate the effect of positive and negative shocks on the independent variable on the dependent variable, a nonlinear autoregressive distributive lag (ARDL) is used. The findings confirm that the effects of globalization and trade openness are significant and nonlinear. However, the effect of negative shocks of globalization and trade openness is more dominant on the CO2 emissions in in Saudi Arabia than the positive shocks of both variables. Moreover, the present study tests the presence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in Saudi Arabia, and the findings confirm the presence of an inverted U-shape curve in the Saudi Arabia economy. Policymakers should reinforce environmental regulations, broaden green financing initiatives, and adopt international best practices to ensure that globalization supports environmental goals in the long-term.

Keywords: Environment; Economic Globalization; Sustainability; Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lag; Environmental Kuznets Curve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eco:journ2:v:16:y:2026:i:2:id:22517

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DOI: 10.32479/ijeep.22517

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