Assessing the impact of climate risk on ecological quality in the context of the circular economy using kernel regularized quantile regression

The importance of circular economy strategies and climate risk resilience has increased due to global policy shifts, such as the commitments made at COP29 and net-zero targets, which pressure carbon-intensive economies to transition to more sustainable and low-carbon development pathways. This study uses the marginal effect of Kernel Regularized Quantile Regression in Qatar, one of the world's leading gas-exporting countries, to investigate the impact of the circular economy (CE) and climate risk index (CRI) on ecological quality. The results indicate that a circular economy exhibits limited environmental benefits at lower quantiles but becomes increasingly advantageous at higher quantiles. The outcome shows climate risk has a robust negative impact on ecological quality, especially in ecologically low and medium quantiles. The findings also confirm that ICT plays a role in promoting environmental sustainability in Qatar. These findings highlight the necessity for developing new policy implications to effectively address climate vulnerability and ecological quality through the integration of a circular economy and effective waste management.