Balancing resources and sustainability: Analyzing the impact of mineral resources utilization on green growth

This study investigates the impact of mineral resource utilization on green growth in selected Central Asian economies using autoregressive distributed lag analysis on data from 1995 to 2021. Our findings reveal that increased mineral resource extraction has a detrimental effect on the region's green growth index in both the short and long term due to adverse environmental consequences. Conversely, a 1% increase in hydropower production leads to a 0.10% and 0.19% improvement in the green growth index in the short and long term, respectively. However, higher carbon dioxide emissions weaken green economic growth due to environmental harm and increased healthcare costs. Urbanization also negatively impacts the green growth index in the long term, decreasing it by 0.06%. Policy recommendations include diversifying mineral resource exports, promoting green financing for sustainable resource projects, and expanding sustainable power generation to steer Central Asia toward a more environmentally sustainable economic path. •Mineral resources extraction decelerates green prosperity.•Green electricity production amplifies green growth.•CO2 emissions affect negatively on green growth.