Exposing the environmental impacts of air transportation on the ecological system: empirical evidence from APEC countries

In the trend of globalization, economic and social benefits of air transportation (AIR) are not indisputable. However, AIR's environmental impacts are still a controversial issue. While previous studies had shown that air transportation contributed to air pollution by emitting CO(2), lack of studies consider the effects of air transportation on ecological system. Therefore, this study investigates the relationship between air transportation and ecological footprint as well as CO(2) emissions in the case of APEC countries, which is leading in the growth rate of air transport activities. Applying regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors for a data set from 1992 to 2015, our research provides evidence that: (i) air transportation increases CO(2) emissions but this impact is negligible; (ii) air transportation contributes significantly in reducing ecological footprint of APEC countries; and (iii) globalization reduces both CO(2) emissions and ecological footprint. In addition, Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test helps to confirm the bidirectional causality relationship between air transportation and ecological footprint. Meanwhile, unidirectional causality runs from air transportation to carbon emissions. Based on these conclusions, some policy suggestions are given for APEC countries.