| dc.description.abstract | This study examines the impact of economic growth and renewable energy
consumption on carbon emissions in the highest CO2 emitting countries. To achieve
this objective, the study uses a panel annual data of the top 10 ten highest CO2
emitting countries from 1990-2020. This research uses the Environmental Kuznets
curve (EKC) hypothesis framework which postulates an inverted U-shaped
relationship between pollutant levels and per capita income and employs a pooled
mean group autoregressive distributed lag (PMG-ARDL) model.
The research finding confirms the presense of an inverted U-shaped
relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions, and is therefore in
accordance with the EKZ hypothesis. As a consequence, economic growth tends to
increase carbon emissions to a certain limit. When economic growth is very high,
estimated in this model at 11%, then carbon emissions can fall. This shows the high
costs of reducing carbon emissions. On the other hands, the results show that
renewable energy consumption, trade openness, and urbanization have positive
effect on CO2 emissions.
This finding is in accordance with the results of robustness tests using Fully
Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares
(DOLS) regression analysis, except for renewable energy which shows a weak
relationship in the short and long term. In addition, the PMG-ARDL results confirm
that there is adjustment to deviations from long-term equilibrium relatively quickly.
Overall, our findings underscore the importance of policy recommendations
aimed at reducing CO2 emissions in these countries. This research contributes to the
existing literature by shedding light on the intricate dynamics between economic
growth, energy sources, and environmental sustainability. | en_US |
