GHG Emissions and Fossil Energy Use as Consequences of Efforts of Improving Human Well-being in Africa

Abstract

This paper addresses two shortcomings of existing studies on the interconnection between economic growth, energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: the mechanism through which the latter interconnection operates and the existence of geographical spillovers in both fossil energy use and CO2 emissions. Asserting that efforts of improving living conditions create an energy demand and the higher fossil energy use, the higher environmental degradation, we exploit a recursive system of three equations that accounts for regressor endogeneity and spatial spillovers. The empirical results for a sample of 41 Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries thoroughly support our hypotheses. Thus, contrary to studies linking gas emissions to economic growth, implicitly holding the latter responsible for CO2 emissions, our results suggest that gas emissions are direct consequences of fossil energy use, the latter being driven by efforts of improving living conditions. Such conclusions advocate for environmental management strategies towards an energy transition in SSA, in order to mitigate environmental pollution while improving human living conditions.