The dynamic impact of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions: A revisited Environmental Kuznets Curve approach

Has the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis become stronger? A comparative analysis for OECD countries and selected late-industrializing Asian economies.

This study used the Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) model to confirm the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in Indonesia, considering income, fossil energy consumption, renewable energy consumption, and forest moratorium and restoration policies. In the long-run, our model suggests that CO2 emissions will continue to rise simultaneously with income, implying that the EKC hypothesis is not valid for CO2 emissions in Indonesia. We found that fossil energy consumption has a positive effect on the rise of CO2 emissions, whereas renewable energy consumption, forest moratoriums, and forest restoration policies have a negative impact on CO2 emissions. This research emphasises the necessity of reducing reliance on fossil energy, increasing the use of renewable energy, and conserving Indonesia’s forests.

Exploring the effects of economic growth, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on China’s CO2 emissions: Evidence from a regional panel analysis

The achievement of economic growth is equally important as environmental sustainability. Economic growth is considered capable of enhancing the overall welfare of society. However, there is a sacrifice stemming from economic growth in the form of negative external impacts. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in Indonesia and India. The EKC hypothesis connects economic growth with CO2 emissions. The Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is employed to assess both the long-term and short-term impacts of economic growth on CO2 emissions in Indonesia and India. Additionally, the study seeks to comprehend the applicability of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in these countries over the period of 1965-2021. The research findings indicate that economic growth has a significant impact on CO2 emissions in the short term, but this influence is not sustained in the long term in Indonesia. In contrast, in India, economic growth does not exhibit a significant effect on CO2 emissions in the short term, but it does have a notable impact in the long term. This implies that Indonesia does not align with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in the long term, while India is anticipated to adhere to the EKC hypothesis in the future.

The role of green innovation in achieving environmental sustainability in European Union countries: Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis

The economic complexity index, which indicates the level of knowledge and skills needed in the production of the exported goods, is a measure of economic development. Some researchers have investigated the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis by considering the effect of economic complexity on environmental pollution. This study, for the first time, examines the impact of economic complexity, globalization, and renewable and non-renewable energy consumption on both CO2 emissions and ecological footprint within the framework of the EKC hypothesis in the USA. To this end, the combined cointegration test and three different estimators are utilized for the period from 1980 to 2016. The main finding of the study indicates that the inverted U-shaped EKC relationship between economic complexity and environmental pollution holds for the USA. In addition to this finding, globalization and renewable energy consumption play a dominant role in reducing environmental pollution, while non-renewable energy consumption contributing factor to environmental pressure. Overall, the outcomes indicate that increasing economic complexity helps to minimize environmental degradation after a threshold, and the US government can provide a better environment by using renewable energy sources and globalization. Graphical abstract.

Purpose - This study analyzed the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis between CO2 emissions and economic growth using panel data from 37 OECD countries from 1998 to 2015, and investigated the impact of tourism and renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions. Design/Methodology/Approach - We used AMG (augmented mean group) estimation and Dumitrescu-Hurlin Bootstrap panel causality test considering the cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity of panel data for long-term and short-term analysis. Findings - As a result of the long-term analysis, we confirmed that the EKC hypothesis was established between CO2 emission and economic growth. And it has been estimated that tourism increases CO2 emissions, and renewable energy consumption reduces CO2 emissions. As a result of the short-term analysis, we found that economic growth, tourism and renewable energy consumption affect CO2 emissions. Research Implications - It implies suggest that sustainable economic growth is possible through the development of eco-friendly tourism industry policies along with policies to increase renewable energy consumption. OECD countries should develop eco-friendly tourism industries using renewable energy in the short and the long term, and come up with measures to improve the efficiency of resource utilization in the tourism industry by closely reviewing and cooperating with other countries.

Environment-economic growth nexus is one of the main concerns of the researchers in the modern era. Although there are several studies in this field, discussions are far from being reached a consensus. The main purpose of this study is to investigate the role of economic growth, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, oil prices, and trade openness on CO2 emissions in 25 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries over the period 1990-2014. We provide a comparative panel data evidence using both the first- and second-generation estimation methods. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) estimations indicate that the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is valid in OECD countries. However, the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimator revealed that the EKC hypothesis is invalid. The AMG estimator is a second-generation estimator and provides robust results under cross-sectional dependence compared to the first-generation methods; therefore, the EKC hypothesis is invalid. Our additional findings show that rising renewable energy consumption and oil prices mitigate CO2 emissions while non-renewable energy consumption increases it according to all estimators. No significant relationship is found between trade openness and CO2 emissions.

Based on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, this paper uses panel cointegration techniques to investigate the short‐ and long‐run relationship between CO2 emissions, gross domestic product (GDP), renewable energy consumption and international trade for a panel of 24 sub‐Saharan Africa countries over the period 1980–2010. Short‐run Granger causality results reveal that there is a bidirectional causality between emissions and economic growth; bidirectional causality between emissions and real exports; unidirectional causality from real imports to emissions; and unidirectional causality runs from trade (exports or imports) to renewable energy consumption. There is an indirect short‐run causality running from emissions to renewable energy and an indirect short‐run causality from GDP to renewable energy. In the long‐run, the error correction term is statistically significant for emissions, renewable energy consumption and trade. The long‐run estimates suggest that the inverted U‐shaped EKC hypothesis is not supported for these countries; exports have a positive impact on CO2 emissions, whereas imports have a negative impact on CO2 emissions. As a policy recommendation, sub‐Saharan Africa countries should expand their trade exchanges particularly with developed countries and try to maximize their benefit from technology transfer occurring when importing capital goods as this may increase their renewable energy consumption and reduce CO2 emissions.

ABSTRACTThis study aims at investigating the contextual factors surrounding the nexus between economic development and environmental degradation by utilising the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis and incorporating CO2 emissions indicator. The environmental quality, energy source, economic growth nexus evaluation is heavily dependent on the level of economic growth. The study examines impact of different levels of economic expansion following an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis across Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Additionally, the present study examines the asymmetrical relationship that exist between economic growth and green energy, and the environmental quality. The study employs panel data ranging from 1996 to 2020 in the context of MENA nations. Several econometric tests were employed, second generation unit root tests, CIPS and CADF, Westerlund cointegration test. This study extends prior studies by applying the Panel Non‐Linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (PNARDL). The Westerlund test validates a long run association among the variable of the study. The EKC hypothesis is validated in the short run for the MENA countries. It also reveals that a positive and negative shocks to the green energy decreases CO2 emissions. The positive shock to GDP results in an increase in CO2 emissions. Moreover, the study revealed a negative and significant relationship between FDI and CO2 emission. A positive and significant relationship was found between trade openness and CO2 emissions. Our findings suggest that the MENA nations should switch to green energy sources to lessen the impact of non‐renewable energy consumption on the environment and promote sustainable development, since non‐renewable energy is believed to have the greatest impact on economic activity.

Testing environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: The role of renewable and non-renewable energy consumption and trade in OECD countries

Since the contribution of economic sectors to GDP is heterogeneous, they also contribute differently to CO2 emissions and environmental degradation. In this regard, it is crucial to examine the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis at the sectoral level. Nevertheless, despite the extensive research conducted on the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, significant gaps remain in the existing literature, particularly at the sectoral level. This study makes a novel contribution to the existing literature on the environmental EKC hypothesis by examining its validity across four distinct sectors: agriculture, industry, manufacturing, and services. Additionally, it makes a second contribution to the literature by examining the effect of energy consumption on CO2 asymmetrically, employing a novel panel non-linear ARDL (PNARDL) method. The study employs annual data from 38 OECD countries, spanning the period from 1990 to 2022. The findings demonstrate that the EKC hypothesis is valid for sectors other than the industrial sector and for the economy as a whole. The turning point of the Kuznets Curve for the total economy is estimated as $29250 GDP per capita. The PNARDL model’s error correction term (ect) is negative and significant. However, the magnitude of the term suggests that the system will return to long-term equilibrium after approximately 2.87 years following any shock. Asymmetric effects are valid for four sectors. Moreover, the empirical results clearly show that energy consumption has asymmetric effects on emissions in both the long and short run. Positive and negative shocks in energy consumption increase CO2 emissions in OECD economies in the long run. It has been determined that agriculture is the sector that causes the most environmental degradation by increasing CO2 emissions. This situation highlights the limited availability of productive capital equipment and renewable sources in the agricultural sector, even in OECD countries. As a result, the findings show that there is a different relationship between each sector’s GDP and CO2 emissions. It is important for policymakers to formulate sector-specific policies to reduce CO2 emissions while fostering GDP growth.

This study investigates the impacts of nuclear energy consumption on environmental quality from a different perspective by focusing on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, ecological footprint, and load capacity factor. In this context, the South Korea case, which is a leading country producing and consuming nuclear energy, is investigated by considering also economic growth, and the 1997 Asian crisis from 1977 to 2018. To this end, the study employs the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. Different from previous literature, this study proposes a load capacity curve (LCC) and tests the LCC and environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypotheses simultaneously. The analysis results reveal that (i) the LCC and EKC hypotheses are valid in South Korea; (ii) nuclear energy has an improving effect on the environmental quality; (iii) renewable energy does not have a significant long-term impact on the environment; (iv) the 1997 Asian crisis had an increasing effect on the load capacity factor; (v) South Korea has not yet reached the turning point, identified as $55,411, where per capita income improves environmental quality. Overall, the results show the validity of the LCC and EKC hypotheses and prove the positive contribution of nuclear energy to South Korea's green development strategies.

Determining the effectiveness of the forest load capacity factor in assisting decarbonization in India

Studies analyzing the environmental impacts of economic growth and considering the nexus between the stages of development remain popular since the 90s. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis suggests that there is an inverted-U-shape relationship between per capita income and damage to the environment. Within the vast EKC literature, various variables that may have an impact on environmental pollution were included in the models. However, studies examine the effect of education on environmental quality are relatively new. In this study, the EKC hypothesis is tested in terms of per capita income and education level by using data from the period of 1998-2014 of 47 countries. Environmental pollution is measured by carbon dioxide per capita; income level is measured by GDP per capita, and education level is measured by the number of students enrolled in tertiary education and the share of public expenditures on education in GDP. According to the empirical findings; (i) The Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis is confirmed for only the number of students enrolled in tertiary education, (ii) there is a significant and negative relationship between the share of public expenditures on education in GDP and CO2 emissions. Therefore education can be evaluated as a powerful tool for environmental policy.