Rapid industrialization in recently industrialized countries (NICs) has exacerbated environmental degradation, raising urgent concerns about how energy consumption, gold prices, and fossil fuel prices contribute to this growing issue. This study aims to evaluate the asymmetric relationships between these factors and environmental degradation across 10 NICs, including Brazil, India, South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, Thailand, South Africa, Malaysia, and the Philippines, from 1995 to 2023. Using the CS-ARDL model, our study demonstrates that while energy costs and renewable energy consumpt...
