Awosusi, A. A., Eweade, B. S., & Ojekemi, O. S. (2026). Analyzing the environmental role of resource efficiency, economic globalization, and biomass usage in Malaysia: a time-varying causal approach. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 28, 5085–5108.
In a recent article published in Environment, Development and Sustainability, Near East University (NEU) researcher Abraham Ayobamiji Awosusi, together with co-authors Babatunde Sunday Eweade (Eastern Mediterranean University) and Opeoluwa Seun Ojekemi (University of Mediterranean Karpasia), set out to answer a question that matters for many fast-growing countries: can a nation keep getting richer without using up nature faster than nature can recover?
The team chose Malaysia as their case study, a country famous for its rainforests, palm-oil industry, and rapid industrial growth, but also one that has long depended on oil, gas, and coal. By covering the period between 1970 and 2018, the researchers tracked how four big forces have shaped Malaysia’s environmental health: the use of biomass energy (energy made from plant and crop waste), how efficiently the country uses its raw materials, the size of its economy, and how deeply it is plugged into the global economy through trade and finance.
To measure environmental health, the authors used an indicator called the Load Capacity Factor (LF). In simple terms, LF compares what nature can supply (biocapacity) with what people are taking from it (ecological footprint). A higher LF reflects ecological reserve, while a declining LF signals ecological overshoot. Malaysia’s LF remained above the sustainability threshold during the 1970s, suggesting that its ecosystems could support prevailing levels of development. However, its decline below the threshold from the early 1990s reflects growing ecological pressure, natural capital depletion, and a shift toward unsustainable resource use.
The findings are encouraging in some ways and challenging in others. Using biomass energy and using raw materials more efficiently both clearly help the environment: each one pushes Malaysia’s LF in the right direction. Economic growth, when paired with the right policies, also turned out to be compatible with better ecological outcomes over the long run, supporting the idea that development and sustainability can go hand in hand. Trade globalization, however, told a different story. The more open Malaysia became to international trade, the more pressure was placed on its environment, suggesting that without stronger green safeguards, exporting more goods can come at an ecological cost.
The study also found that the relationship operates in both directions. A healthier environment supports stronger economic activity, and stronger economic activity, when properly guided, can provide the resources needed for cleaner technologies and improved environmental outcomes. The two are not opposing forces; they reinforce each other through a continuous feedback process.
Based on these results, the authors recommend that Malaysia accelerate its move toward a circular economy: making the most of every resource, cutting waste, and turning agricultural and industrial leftovers (such as palm-oil residues, rice husks, and municipal waste) into clean biomass energy. They also call for incentives that make bio-energy more affordable, training and research programs to spread efficient technologies, clearer rules for sustainable biomass production, and international partnerships that align trade with the country’s climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.
For collaboration and inquiries, please contact Abraham Ayobamiji Awosusi at [email protected]
About the researcher
Abraham Ayobamiji Awosusi is a researcher at Near East University (NEU), Northern Cyprus, affiliated with the Prof. Dr. İrfan Suat Günsel Operational Research Institute. He is a prolific researcher and analyst with expertise in energy and environmental economics, international economics, macroeconomic development, and financial economics. He is passionate about developmental and environmental issues in emerging economies, especially among the BRICS and MINT countries, and a substantial amount of his research work has been directed towards addressing socioeconomic challenges in these nations. His scholarly contributions span topics such as renewable energy adoption, ecological footprint, load capacity factor, financial and economic globalization, and the determinants of carbon emissions, with publications appearing in leading international journals including Energy Reports, Renewable Energy, Environmental Science and Pollution Research, and Frontiers in Environmental Science.
Disciplines: Financial Economics, Environmental Economics, Macroeconomics.
For collaboration and inquiries, he can be reached at [email protected]
Abstract
Malaysia’s commitment towards a sustainable environment requires implementing clean energy sources and less raw materials usage, which could have a significant impact on the nation’s biocapacity and ecological footprint. As a result, this study examined the environmental impact of resource efficiency, biomass energy, and economic growth in Malaysia, within the load capacity curve hypothesis framework, while controlling for economic globalization, financial globalization, and trade globalization. This research utilizes the ARDL estimator and the bootstrapped time-varying causality (TVC) approach to analyse the dataset from 1970 to 2018. The findings of the ARDL estimator reveal that biomass energy and resource efficiency increase the load capacity factor (LF), while trade globalization reduces LF in Malaysia. Furthermore, the result uncovered the validity of the load capacity curve hypothesis, highlighting that persistent economic activities will help to achieve ecological quality in Malaysia. The result of the bootstrapped TVC approach reveals a feedback causal association between LF and its predictors in Malaysia. These results emphasize the need for an effective circular economy, which involves maximizing resource use, reducing waste, and incorporating biomass energy into this framework.
