Green transportation – Environmental sustainability within the purview of green energy, green innovation, and institutional quality: New evidence from belt and road initiatives economies an application of quasi-experimental approach

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) promotes economic cooperation, connectivity, and infrastructure development across economies. It impacts transport networks, environmental practices, land use, resource consumption, and pollution levels, requiring careful evaluation and analysis. In this backdrop, the present study delves into the impact of green transportation systems on environmental quality in economies linked to the Belt and Road initiative, employing a quasi-experimental approach. The results of the research demonstrate that the implementation of green transport significantly moderates environmental quality levels while simultaneously increasing carbon dioxide emissions. To shed light on this outcome, we propose a development-matching theory. Most importantly, the study's findings do not suggest a negative influence of green transportation on environmental quality. Rather, within the context of the Belt and Road framework, where investments flow from affluent to less developed nations, the latter undergo a direct transition from the initial stage of economic development (characterized by low carbon emissions) to the subsequent stage (marked by high carbon emissions) and eventually reach the third stage (involving green energy). Consequently, green transportation curtails the anticipated rise in carbon emissions that typically accompanies economic development. As a result, green transportation effectively mitigates the projected escalation in carbon emissions associated with economic progress.