Abstract
This paper examines how economic growth and renewable energy consumption are associated with air pollution using a dynamic panel approach. Focusing on several major air pollutants, namely, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide, this paper tests the environmental Kuznets hypothesis and determines whether the use of renewable energy sources contributes to a reduction in air pollution. Data from a balanced panel of 145 countries for the period between 2000 and 2014 was used for the estimation of the dynamic panel model. The results of the dynamic panel model showed inverted U-shaped curves for the relationship between economic development and particulate matter and sulfur dioxide emissions. The results also revealed that increasing renewable energy consumption contributes to an improvement in air quality. Moreover, it was found that urbanization tends to decrease sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, while trade openness reduces particulate matter and carbon monoxide emissions but increases sulfur dioxide emissions.
Highlights
Air pollution is a global issue because it causes global warming and affects human health
The findings show that underdeveloped or developing countries can suffer from air pollution, but they can, at least, alleviate air pollution problems related to particulate matter 2.5 average exposure (PMA) and SO2 emissions if their per capita gross domestic product (GDP) reaches about USD 11,000 to 12,000
The main purpose of this paper is to study the nexus between air quality, economic growth and renewable energy consumption using dynamic analysis
Summary
Air pollution is a global issue because it causes global warming and affects human health. Human activities have exacerbated global warming through the production of excessive greenhouse gases, which induce harmful effects on human health. Short-term exposure to air pollutants causes dizziness, nausea, asthma, pneumonia, and heart problems [2]. Exposure to air pollutants affects human skin, causing symptoms such as skin aging, eczema, acne, and urticaria, and affects the eyes, causing irritation or dry eye syndrome [3,4]. Long-term exposure can even induce cancer or death [5]. Studies have shown that air pollution could be the main cause of cardiovascular disease and affect the immune system extensively [8,9]
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