Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Implications for Environmental Policy: Evidence in Southeast Asia

Anh Tru Nguyen

doi:10.24112/jaes.030002

Abstract

The article attempts to investigate impacts of determinants on per capita carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in six developing countries in Southeast Asia between 1985 and 2014 using a panel dataset. We found that electric power per capita, energy use, and gross domestic product have positive influences on per capita CO2 emissions in Southeast Asia. However, population and renewable energy consumption negatively affect per capita CO2 emissions in this region. Our results also addressed that per capita CO2 emissions of Indonesia and Viet Nam are higher than that of other countries in the region. Lastly, policies are recommended to reduce CO2 emissions and protect the environment in Southeast Asia, including improvement of energy efficiency of countries in the region, implementation of the Project in Clean Energy Investments, reduction of fuel and CO2 emissions applied to light duty vehicles and high duty vehicles, exploitation of advantages in exporting greenhouse gas emissions, and cooperation among countries in the region in order to reduce emissions. DOWNLOAD HISTORY | This article has been downloaded 250 times in Digital Commons before migrating into this platform.

Highlights

Effects of climate change on economic and social development have always been considered as an urgent issue in all over the world
We found that electric power per capita, energy use, and gross domestic product have positive influences on per capita CO2 emissions in Southeast Asia
Indonesia had the strongest increase by about 370,000 kilotonnes from nearly 95,000 kt in 1980 to nearly 465,000 kt in 2014, followed by Thailand, Malaysia, Viet Nam (150,000 kt), the Philippines, while Myanmar presented the smallest increase by only 16,105 kt (Figure 1)

Summary

Introduction

Effects of climate change on economic and social development have always been considered as an urgent issue in all over the world. Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions of the world due to effects of climate change. The growth of CO2 emissions in this region has been more rapid than in any other area of the world and this can be seen as the key contributor to global warming [1]. According to the 2nd ASEAN Energy Demand Outlook (2009), energy consumption in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will rise 3.9 percent annually from 343 MTOE in 2005 to 901 MTOE in 2030 with the rapid growth of transportation sector by 5.1 percent annually, corresponding to an equivalent growth in CO2 emissions [15]. By 2017, Southeast Asia has been recorded to account for 8 percent of global energy demand growth [19]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion