European Countries on a green path. Connections between environmental quality, renewable energy and economic growth (original) (raw)
Related papers
Recently a great number of empirical research studies have been conducted on the relationship between certain indicators of environmental degradation and income. The EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) hypothesis has been tested for various types of environmental degradation. The EKC hypothesis states that the relationship between environmental degradation and income per capita takes the form of an inverted U shape. In this paper the EKC hypothesis was investigated with regards to the relationship between carbon emissions, income and energy consumption in 16 EU (European Union) countries. We conducted panel data analysis for the period of 1990e2008 by fixing the multicollinearity problem between the explanatory variables using their centered values. The main contribution of this paper is that the EKC hypothesis has been investigated by separating final energy consumption into renewable and fossil fuel energy consumption. Unfortunately, the inverted U-shape relationship (EKC) does not hold for carbon emissions in the 16 EU countries. The other important finding is that renewable energy consumption contributes around 1/2 less per unit of energy consumed than fossil energy consumption in terms of GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions in EU countries. This implies that a shift in energy consumption mix towards alternative renewable energy technologies might decrease the GHG emissions.
Energies, 2019
Energy is considered a critical driver of social and economic progress, but the use of conventional energy from fossil fuel sources is viewed as the main contributor to greenhouse gases that cause global warming. To overcome such issues, renewable energy technologies appeared as a viable substitute which lessens pollutant emissions and protect the environment. This paper investigates the impact of energy consumption and environmental pollution on economic growth, also exploring the causal associations, for a sample of 11 Central and Eastern European states over the period 2000 to 2016. The outcomes of panel data regressions indicate evidence of a non-linear link between renewable energy (both overall, as well as in form of hydro and wind power) and gross domestic product per capita growth. The non-linear relations were also established in case of alternative & nuclear energy and fossil fuel energy consumption. However, the influence of non-renewable energy on growth was not statisti...
Sustainability, 2018
This study analyses the relationship between per capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, gross domestic product, gross inland energy consumption, and renewable energy consumption for a panel of 28 countries of European Union in the period 1990–2016. Two theoretical models, a quadratic and a cubic one, are used to estimate the shape of the environmental curve and to test the Kuznets hypothesis. The panel cointegration approach proved the existence of long-run equilibrium relations among the four macroeconomic indicators. Empirical estimations, using panel data techniques, as well as heterogeneous regression for each individual country in the panel, show non-conclusive evidence for the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The least square estimates, with the variables in log per capita form, reveal that the inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis is verified for the panel and for 17 of the 28 EU countries. Estimates of the cubic model show that the environmental curve has an inverted...
The Interdependencies between Economic Growth, Energy Consumption and Pollution in Europe
Energies
The strong interdependency between economic growth and conventional energy consumption have led to significant environmental impact, especially with respect to greenhouse gas emissions. Conventional energy-intensive industries release increasing quantities every year, which has prompted global leaders to consider new approaches based on sustainable consumption. The main purpose of this research is to propose a new energy index that accounts for the complexity and interdependences between the research variables. The methodology is based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and combines the key components determined into a score that allows for both temporal and cross-country comparisons. All data analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25™. The main findings show that most countries improved their economic performance since 2014, but the speed of the improvement varies a lot from one country to another. The final score determined reflects the complex changes taking place i...
Energy Consumption, Economic Growth and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the European Union Countries
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 2017
This paper investigates the relationship between economic growth, greenhouse gas emissions and other factors based on the panel data of 22 countries of the EU in the period 1995–2014. The fixed effect panel model was used as a framework for the analysis. The novel contribution of this paper is that the factors of economic growth, energy consumption, energy taxes as well as R&D were tested in one expanded EKC model, including the data of three Baltic States. The regression coefficients referring to GDP, Energy consumption have a positive sign, while R&D and Energy taxes have a negative sign. The empirical analysis combines two steps of evaluation of panel models of different groups of countries. The results imply that the analysed factors (energy consumption, energy taxes as well as R&D) can be applied to adjust the EKC trend in the region and might be useful for the climate change policy adjustment.
Energies, 2021
Considering the necessity of achieving economic development by keeping the quality of the environment, the aim of this paper is to study the impact of economic growth on GHG emissions in a sample of Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries (V4 countries, Bulgaria and Romania) in the period of 1996–2019. In the context of dynamic ARDL panel and environmental Kuznets curve (EKC), the relationship between GHG and GDP is N-shaped. A U-shaped relationship was obtained in the renewable Kuznets curve (RKC). Energy consumption, domestic credit to the private sector, and labor productivity contribute to pollution, while renewable energy consumption reduces the GHG emissions. However, more efforts are required for promoting renewable energy in the analyzed countries.
PLOS ONE, 2018
This study examines the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis (EKC), considering the primary energy consumption among other country-specific variables, for a panel of the EU-28 countries during the period 1990-2014. By estimating pooled OLS regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors in order to account for cross-sectional dependence, the results confirm the EKC hypothesis in the case of emissions of sulfur oxides and emissions of nonmethane volatile organic compounds. In addition to pooled estimations, the output of fixedeffects regressions with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors support the EKC hypothesis for greenhouse gas emissions, greenhouse gas emissions intensity of energy consumption, emissions of nitrogen oxides, emissions of non-methane volatile organic compounds and emissions of ammonia. Additionally, the empirical findings from panel vector error correction model reveal a short-run unidirectional causality from GDP per capita growth to greenhouse gas emissions, as well as a bidirectional causal link between primary energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, since there occurred no causal link between economic growth and primary energy consumption, the neo-classical view was confirmed, namely the neutrality hypothesis.
Economic Development and Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the European Union Countries
Journal of Business Economics and Management, 2015
The paper analyses the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) relationship between greenhouse gases and main aspects of economic development based on the panel data of 20 countries of the EU, including the data of three Baltic States, in the period 1995–2011. The fixed effect panel model was used as a framework for the analysis. The commonly used models confirmed the presence of the inverse U-shaped relationship. The novel contribution of this paper is that the factor referring to the global financial crisis was tested in expanded EKC model. Higher energy taxes, primary production of nuclear heat and R&D decrease the level of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). The size of agriculture, industry and construction, as well as the primary production of solid fuels have a positive sign, which means that a higher value of these indicators is associated with a higher level of GHG. This implies that the analysed set of factors can be applied to adjust the EKC trend in the region and might be useful ...
Natural Hazards, 2015
This study investigates the influence of disaggregated renewable electricity production by source on CO 2 emission in 23 selected European countries for the period of 1990-2013. Panel data techniques were used in examining the relationships. The Pedroni cointegration results indicated that CO 2 emission, GDP growth, urbanization, financial development, and renewable electricity production by source were cointegrated. Moreover, the fully modified ordinary least-square results revealed that GDP growth, urbanization, and financial development increase CO 2 emission in the long run, while trade openness reduces it. Furthermore, renewable electricity generated from combustible renewables and waste, hydroelectricity, and nuclear power have a negative long-run effect on CO 2 emission, while renewable electricity generated from solar power and wind power is insignificant. The VECM Granger causality also revealed that GDP growth is the only variable that has causal effects on CO 2 emission in all the investigated models, while the rest of the variables have causal effects on CO 2 emission in only a few models. A number of policy recommendations were provided for the European countries.
Energy Reports, 2020
One of the European Union's (EU) membership conditions includes an ambitious energy policy objective such as energy security, environmental protection and diversification using renewables. However, the impact of the energy policy on environmental sustainability is yet to be assessed. In line with EU energy policy, we investigate the nexus between energy generation and CO 2 emissions in three blocs of countries namely Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and New Member States (NMS) from 1992-2014. The experimental exercise was conducted using the Generalized Method of Moment. The empirical results show that a 1% increase in renewable energy generation increases CO 2 emissions in CIS countries by 0.04% and CEE countries by 0.02% respectively, but decreases CO 2 emissions by 0.02% in NMS countries. Both subsamples of NMS and CIS countries conform to the inverted U-shape of the EKC hypothesis. However, the results of the subsample of CEE countries do not uphold the EKC hypothesis. This, suggests that environmental consequences of sustained economic growth in CEE countries does not increase pollutant emissions. Thus, we conclude that there exists a difference in the level of environmental degradation across the blocs. This study highlights the need to embark on decarbonized economic agenda that prioritizes clean environment.