Convergence Of CO2 Emissions Research Articles

Energy consumption and CO2 emissions convergence in European Union member countries. A tonneau des Danaides?

As the consumption of energy is responsible for approximately, 80% of GHG in EU (IEA, 2008), the impact of energy activity on the environment has received increasing attention over the last decades from scholars, researchers, politicians and society as a whole. Within EU member countries it is commonly accepted that the design of energy and mitigation policies either at national or at European level require a detailed and integrated investigation of convergence-divergence pattern among the participating countries. In this paper, we examine the distribution dynamics of energy consumption and CO2 emissions, their intensities as well as the carbonization index in 23 European countries over a forty one year period, in particular from 1970 to 2010. For this purpose we used Quah's methodology which is based on the dynamics of cross-section distributions. The main conclusion is that for all the examined variables the hypothesis of convergence patterns for the EU sample is not valid. Moreover, regarding each examined variable different groups of polarization established. Important differences occur across EU countries according to the climate type with respect to the examined variables. Our analysis provides strong evidence supporting the fact that national and European energy and mitigation policies should be implemented according to the non-convergence paradigm. The body of evidence provided by our analysis is of great importance to energy policy makers and for issues related to climate change.

Multi-sectorial convergence in greenhouse gas emissions

This paper uses the World Input-Output Database (WIOD) to test the hypothesis of per capita convergence in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for a multi-sectorial panel of countries. The empirical strategy applies conventional estimators of random and fixed effects and Arellano and Bond's (1991) GMM to the main pollutants related to the greenhouse effect. For reasonable empirical specifications, the model revealed robust evidence of per capita convergence in CH4 emissions in the agriculture, food, and services sectors. The evidence of convergence in CO2 emissions was moderate in the following sectors: agriculture, food, non-durable goods manufacturing, and services. In all cases, the time for convergence was less than 15 years. Regarding emissions by energy use, the largest source of global warming, there was only moderate evidence in the extractive industry sector—all other pollutants presented little or no evidence.

Convergence of CO2 emissions and economic growth in the OECD countries: Did the type of fuel matter?

ABSTRACTThis study analyzes convergence in CO2 emissions in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries with respect to the source of emissions (oil vs. coal). The investigated period 1973–2010 is divided into two subperiods, 1973–1991 and 1992–2010. The first period covers the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil price shocks, where the OECD oil policy was to a high extent governed by energy security concerns and Cold War strategic considerations. The second period corresponds to the end of the Cold War and the rise of climate policy in several OECD countries. Due to such contextual differences, oil and coal behave differently in the two subperiods. The generally stronger convergence with respect to oil-related emissions until 1991 conditional on gross domestic product per capita is compatible with a situation where the rising oil prices led to a strong transformation in the countries of interest. Besides, we evidence decoupling of economic growth from oil-related emissions in the post-Cold War period.

Fractional Integration v Structural Change: Testing the Convergence of CO<sub>2</sub> Emissions

This paper assesses the stochastic convergence of relative CO2 emissions within three different sets of countries over the period 1950-2013. Using the Local Whittle (LW) estimator and its variants we investigate whether relative per-capita CO2 emissions are long memory processes which, although highly persistent, may revert to their mean/trend in the long run thereby indicating evidence of stochastic convergence. Furthermore, we test whether (possibly) slow convergence or the complete lack of it, may be the result of structural changes to the deterministics of each of the relative percapita CO2 emissions series by means of the tests of Berkes et al. (2006) and Mayoral (2012). Our results show relatively weak support for stochastic convergence of CO2 emissions among the three groups, indicating that only between 30% and 40% of the countries converge to each group-average in a stochastic sense. Our results also point toward the absence of structural changes.

Testing the CO2 Emissions Convergence: Evidence from Asian Countries

The purpose of this article is to examine the convergence in CO2 emissions across 18 Asian countries over the period of 1972–2010, based on data obtained from World Development Indicators. The study used β and σ convergence for parametric tests and kernel density estimates for non-parametric tests of convergence hypothesis and found convergence in CO2 emission in all the tests. More recent trends have been considered for the tests rather than the long-term trends in CO2 convergence. During the initial period (i.e., 1972–1982 and 1982–1992), the values, although converging, are not significantly depending upon the previous period. In contrast, the results for recent decades show convergence in CO2 emissions significantly. Sigma (σ) convergence estimates also indicates that variation declined more in recent decades. Thus, the empirical findings of the study fulfil the major tests of convergence and provide evidence that many Asian countries’ relative per capita CO2 emissions are converging over time. The study suggests that these results should be looked at in multilateral negotiation agreements.

CO2 emissions convergence among 10 South American countries. A study of Kaya components (1980–2010)

ABSTRACTThis paper analyzes the convergence process in CO2 emissions per capita among 10 South American countries from 1980 to 2010 based on their Kaya components, namely, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, energy intensity and CO2 intensity. This work tries to find out whether a set of countries of a given region share common convergence patterns in CO2 emission per capita and in its driving forces. First, a descriptive statistical analysis is carried out, and then Phillips and Sul methodology is applied to test the existence of convergence clubs in the pathway of evolution of each Kaya component. An analysis of inequality was also performed, considering three exogenous groups of countries. The results show that the region, as a whole, does not present a global convergence pattern regarding CO2 emissions per capita; however, the evidence suggests the formation of various convergence clubs for each Kaya component and even for the Kaya identity as a whole.

Convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emissions in urban China: A spatio-temporal perspective

Carbon dioxide (CO2)-emission dynamics are critical to inter-governmental climate negotiations. Previous studies have noted a gradual equalization of per capita CO2 emissions across developed countries; that is, CO2 emissions converge across developed countries. However, they have ignored the effects of spatio-temporal dynamics on such convergence. In this paper, we address this gap in understanding the regional convergence of CO2 emissions by considering the spatio-temporal dynamics underlying the data. An empirical analysis of CO2 emissions in urban China based on our spatio-temporal model shows that overall, per capita CO2 emissions in these areas increased and converged from 1985 to 2008. The proposed convergence model provides greater explanatory power than its conventional counterpart due to the specification of spatio-temporal dependency. Our results reveal the dynamics of spatial effects in the convergence model, thus identifying the role of spatial effects in a disaggregated manner. The convergence rate increases when considering its spatio-temporal dependency. This ‘catching-up’ in the convergence of CO2 emissions indicates an increasing trend in such emissions in China, although the Chinese government has taken many measures to reduce CO2 emissions. These results should motivate policy makers to reflect on whether current policies actually reduce carbon emissions.

The Stochastic Convergence of CO2 Emissions: A Long Memory Approach

In response to equity concerns surrounding the spatial distribution of CO2 emissions and assumptions of CO2 convergence within some climate models, this paper examines the convergence of CO2 emissions within the OECD over the period 1870–2004. More specifically, using the Local Whittle estimator and its variants we examine whether relative per capita CO2 emissions are fractionally integrated, that is they are long memory processes which, although highly persistant, may revert to the mean/trend in the long run. Our results suggest that CO2 emissions within 13 out of 18 OECD countries are indeed fractionally integrated implying that they converge over time, albeit slowly. Interestingly though, the countries whose emissions are not found to be fractionally integrated are some of the highest polluters within the OECD, at least in per capita terms. Our results have implications both for future studies of CO2 convergence and for climate policy.

Distribution Dynamics of CO2 Emissions

This paper uses nonparametric methods to examine the convergence in CO2 emissions per capita on a sample of 100 countries for the period 1966–1996. Industrial countries show a convergence pattern. However, there is little evidence of convergence for the whole sample.

The Economics of Exhaustible Resources

The discussion is confined in scope to absolutely irreplaceable assets. Topics include peculiar problems of mineral wealth, free competition, maximum social value and state regulation, monopoly, value of a mine monopoly, retardation of production under monopoly, price effects from cumulated production, and the author's mathematically derived optimum solutions. (PCS)