Abundance of natural resources and environmental sustainability: the roles of manufacturing value-added, urbanization, and permanent cropland

Sustainable management of natural resources and green urbanization is crucial because it assists the use of resources wisely without unnecessary use and without affecting future generations’ needs. This research aims to examine the impact of the abundance of natural resources on China’s CO₂ emissions while moderating the roles of manufacturing value-added, urbanization, and permanent cropland from 1970 to 2016. This study developed a comprehensive empirical analysis, applied advanced econometric methodologies, and used the generalized linear model (GLM) and robust generalized estimating equation (GEE). Overall, the results conclude that natural resource abundance and permanent cropland are negatively associated with China’s CO₂ emissions. However, urbanization and manufacturing value-added are negatively related to those CO₂ emissions. Moreover, natural resource abundance and permanent cropland improve environmental sustainability while urbanization and manufacturing value-added deteriorate that environmental sustainability. It is suggested that policymakers should promote sustainable management of natural resources and encourage economic usage of natural resources to boost resilient ecosystems; shape sustainable places, lifestyles, and communities; and consume natural resources less. Additionally, policymakers should consider collaborating with landscape architects, urban planners, engineers, transport planners, ecologists, sociologists, physiologists, economists, physicists, and other specialists to develop green urban communities. The limitations of the study and directions for future research are discussed.