Economic Development, CO2 Emissions and Energy Use Nexus-Evidence from the Danube Region Countries

Eva Litavcová,Jana Chovancová

doi:10.3390/en14113165

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the empirical cointegration, long-run and short-run dynamics and causal relationships between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in 14 Danube region countries over the period of 1990–2019. The autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds testing methodology was applied for each of the examined variables as a dependent variable. Limited by the length of the time series, we excluded two countries from the analysis and obtained valid results for the others for 26 of 36 ARDL models. The ARDL bounds reliably confirmed long-run cointegration between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Austria, Czechia, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Economic growth and energy consumption have a significant impact on carbon emissions in the long-run in all of these four countries; in the short-run, the impact of economic growth is significant in Austria. Likewise, when examining cointegration between energy consumption, carbon emissions, and economic growth in the short-run, a significant contribution of CO2 emissions on energy consumptions for seven countries was found as a result of nine valid models. The results contribute to the information base essential for making responsible and informed decisions by policymakers and other stakeholders in individual countries. Moreover, they can serve as a platform for mutual cooperation and cohesion among countries in this region.

Highlights

Energy has played an important role in human development and is closely linked to all human activities
A unidirectional causality running from GDP to CO2 and energy consumption to CO2 is present in the case of Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine, supporting the growth hypothesis
We focused on the Danube region countries, which create a very heterogeneous group in terms of geographic, economic, cultural and socio-demographic characteristics

Summary

Introduction

Energy has played an important role in human development and is closely linked to all human activities. The fundamental importance of these issues to sustainable and prosperous development is likewise reflected in the EU’s medium- and long-term planning. Present initiatives of the EU such as the European Green Deal [4]—the EU’s instrument for achieving its ambitious goal of carbon neutrality is a prominent example. These initiatives are complemented by policies addressing specific pressures and sectors, such as the adoption of an EU strategy for the integration of the energy system [5] and an EU hydrogen strategy [6] to support decarbonisation and climate neutrality of the EU by 2050

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Discussion

Conclusion