IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i5p2074-d1349965.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unraveling Korea’s Energy Challenge: The Consequences of Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Energy Use on Economic Sustainability

Author

Listed:
  • Yao Li

    (College of Business Administration, Henan Finance University, Zhengzhou 451464, China)

  • Yugang He

    (Department of Chinese Trade and Commerce, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea)

Abstract

This research delves into the effects of carbon dioxide emissions and energy consumption on economic growth in Korea from 1980 to 2022, employing a sophisticated nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag model. The study unveils pivotal findings, most notably the positive association between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth, suggesting that periods of economic expansion in Korea have been accompanied by surges in emissions. Furthermore, the investigation highlights a significant, albeit asymmetrical, positive impact of primary energy consumption on economic growth, illuminating the critical role of energy in the nation’s economic trajectory. The analysis also identifies essential economic determinants—namely, the labor force, gross fixed capital formation, and net inflows of foreign direct investment—underscoring their pivotal contributions to economic proliferation. The reliability of these insights is corroborated through advanced econometric techniques, including fully modified ordinary least squares and dynamic ordinary least squares methods. A noteworthy discovery emerges from the Toda–Yamamoto causality test, revealing bidirectional Granger causality between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth, as well as between energy consumption and economic growth. Moreover, it uncovers a unidirectional causality flowing from labor, capital formation, and foreign direct investment towards economic growth. These findings elucidate the complex interplay between environmental and economic elements, highlighting the critical need for sustainable energy policies and proactive environmental stewardship in Korea. By advocating for a synthesis of economic advancement and environmental sustainability, this study presents indispensable insights for policymakers. It calls for a judicious approach to balancing Korea’s economic ambitions with its ecological responsibilities, thereby charting a sustainable path forward for the nation. Through its comprehensive analysis, this research contributes valuable perspectives to the discourse on economic development and environmental sustainability, offering guidance for Korea’s strategic planning and policy formulation.

Suggested Citation

  • Yao Li & Yugang He, 2024. "Unraveling Korea’s Energy Challenge: The Consequences of Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Energy Use on Economic Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-29, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:2074-:d:1349965
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/2074/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/5/2074/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Chittedi, Krishna Reddy & Jiao, Zhilun & Vo, Xuan Vinh, 2020. "The effect of renewable energy consumption on economic growth: Evidence from the renewable energy country attractive index," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C).
    2. Umer Shahzad & Mohamed Elheddad & Julia Swart & Sudeshna Ghosh & Buhari Dogan, 2023. "The role of biomass energy consumption and economic complexity on environmental sustainability in G7 economies," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 781-801, January.
    3. Zafar, Muhammad Wasif & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Sinha, Avik & Sengupta, Tuhin & Qin, Quande, 2020. "How Renewable Energy Consumption Contribute to Environmental Quality? The Role of Education in OECD Countries," MPRA Paper 100259, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 08 May 2020.
    4. Neto, David, 2021. "Adaptive LASSO for selecting Fourier coefficients in a functional smooth time-varying cointegrating regression: An application to the Feldstein–Horioka puzzle," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 253-264.
    5. Yoon‐Hee Ha & John Byrne, 2019. "The rise and fall of green growth: Korea's energy sector experiment and its lessons for sustainable energy policy," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(4), July.
    6. Appiah-Otoo, Isaac & Chen, Xudong & Ampah, Jeffrey Dankwa, 2023. "Exploring the moderating role of foreign direct investment in the renewable energy and economic growth nexus: Evidence from West Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    7. Destek, Mehmet & Sinha, Avik, 2020. "Renewable, non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, trade openness and ecological footprint: Evidence from organisation for economic Co-operation and development countries," MPRA Paper 104246, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    8. Paula Bustos & Gabriel Garber & Jacopo Ponticelli, 2020. "Capital Accumulation and Structural Transformation [“Capital Deepening and Nonbalanced Economic Growth”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 135(2), pages 1037-1094.
    9. Suyi Kim, 2020. "The Effects of Foreign Direct Investment, Economic Growth, Industrial Structure, Renewable and Nuclear Energy, and Urbanization on Korean Greenhouse Gas Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-14, February.
    10. M. Hashem Pesaran & Yongcheol Shin & Richard J. Smith, 2001. "Bounds testing approaches to the analysis of level relationships," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 16(3), pages 289-326.
    11. Gold, David & Lederer, Johannes & Tao, Jing, 2020. "Inference for high-dimensional instrumental variables regression," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 217(1), pages 79-111.
    12. Ajoy Ketan Sarangi & Rudra Prakash Pradhan, 2020. "ICT infrastructure and economic growth: a critical assessment and some policy implications," DECISION: Official Journal of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Springer;Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, vol. 47(4), pages 363-383, December.
    13. Sawng, Yeong-wha & Kim, Pang-ryong & Park, JiYoung, 2021. "ICT investment and GDP growth: Causality analysis for the case of Korea," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(7).
    14. Toda, Hiro Y. & Yamamoto, Taku, 1995. "Statistical inference in vector autoregressions with possibly integrated processes," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 66(1-2), pages 225-250.
    15. Clayton Webb & Suzanna Linn & Matthew J. Lebo, 2020. "Beyond the Unit Root Question: Uncertainty and Inference," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 64(2), pages 275-292, April.
    16. Theresa M. GREANEY & Baybars KARACAOVALI, 2017. "Trade, Growth and Economic Inequality in the Asia-Pacific Region: Lessons for Policymakers," Journal of Economics and Political Economy, KSP Journals, vol. 4(2), pages 135-143, June.
    17. Azam Ghezelbash & Mitra Seyedzadeh & Vahid Khaligh & Jay Liu, 2023. "Impacts of Green Energy Expansion and Gas Import Reduction on South Korea’s Economic Growth: A System Dynamics Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, June.
    18. Greaney, Theresa M. & Karacaovali, Baybars, 2017. "Editorial: Trade, growth and economic inequality in the Asia-Pacific region," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-5.
    19. Roger Fouquet, 2016. "Path dependence in energy systems and economic development," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 1(8), pages 1-5, August.
    20. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Zakaria, Muhammad & Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar, 2018. "The energy consumption and economic growth nexus in top ten energy-consuming countries: Fresh evidence from using the quantile-on-quantile approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 282-301.
    21. Khan, Irfan & Hou, Fujun & Zakari, Abdulrasheed & Tawiah, Vincent Konadu, 2021. "The dynamic links among energy transitions, energy consumption, and sustainable economic growth: A novel framework for IEA countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    22. Barnett, William A. & Ghosh, Taniya & Adil, Masudul Hasan, 2022. "Is money demand really unstable? Evidence from Divisia monetary aggregates," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 606-622.
    23. Aditya Goenka & Lin Liu, 2020. "Infectious diseases, human capital and economic growth," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(1), pages 1-47, July.
    24. Jin Zhou & Ali Raza & Hongguang Sui, 2021. "Infrastructure investment and economic growth quality: empirical analysis of China’s regional development," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(23), pages 2615-2630, May.
    25. Dotanhan Yeo & Kouassi Dongo & Adeline Mertenat & Phillipp Lüssenhop & Ina Körner & Christian Zurbrügg, 2020. "Material Flows and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Potential of Decentralized Composting in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Case Study in Tiassalé, Côte d’Ivoire," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-15, October.
    26. Shangfeng Zhang & Yaoxin Liu & Duen-Huang Huang, 2020. "Contribution of factor structure change to China’s economic growth: evidence from the time-varying elastic production function model," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(1), pages 2919-2942, January.
    27. Han, Wontae & Wang, Jian & Wang, Xiao, 2022. "FDI and firm productivity in host countries: The role of financial constraints," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    28. Harwinder Kaur & Vishal Sarin, 2021. "The Saving–Investment Cointegration Across East Asian Countries: Evidence from the ARDL Bound Approach," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 22(4), pages 1010-1018, August.
    29. Wenyu Zang & Mark Baimbridge, 2012. "Exports, imports and economic growth in South Korea and Japan: a tale of two economies," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(3), pages 361-372, January.
    30. Soren Jordan & Andrew Q. Philips, 2018. "Cointegration testing and dynamic simulations of autoregressive distributed lag modelsJournal: Stata Journal," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 18(4), pages 902-923, December.
    31. Smeekes, Stephan & Wijler, Etienne, 2021. "An automated approach towards sparse single-equation cointegration modelling," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 221(1), pages 247-276.
    32. Wei, Zhao & Huang, Lihua, 2022. "Does renewable energy matter to achieve sustainable development? Fresh evidence from ten Asian economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C), pages 759-767.
    33. Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente & Oana Madalina Driha & Festus Victor Bekun & Festus Fatai Adedoyin, 2021. "The asymmetric impact of air transport on economic growth in Spain: fresh evidence from the tourism-led growth hypothesis," Current Issues in Tourism, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(4), pages 503-519, February.
    34. Sudeshna Ghosh, 2019. "Foreign Direct Investment, Female Education, Capital Formation, and Economic Growth in Japan and South Korea," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(3), pages 509-536, July.
    35. Hatipoglu, Emre & Soytas, Mehmet Ali & Belaïd, Fateh, 2023. "Environmental consequences of geopolitical crises: The case of economic sanctions and emissions," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    36. Sangho Kim & Hyunjoon Lim & Donghyun Park, 2013. "Does productivity growth lower inflation in Korea?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 45(16), pages 2183-2190, June.
    37. Amir Iqbal & Xuan Tang & Samma Faiz Rasool, 2023. "Investigating the nexus between CO2 emissions, renewable energy consumption, FDI, exports and economic growth: evidence from BRICS countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 2234-2263, March.
    38. Sudawan Somjai & Thitinan Chankoson & Kittisak Jermsittiparsert, 2020. "An economic analysis of agricultural production function on the paddy fields of Thailand," Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, VsI Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Center, vol. 7(3), pages 2012-2025, March.
    39. Wang, Taining & Henderson, Daniel J., 2022. "Estimation of a varying coefficient, fixed-effects Cobb–Douglas production function in levels," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    40. Yang, Kai & Lee, Lung-fei, 2021. "Estimation of dynamic panel spatial vector autoregression: Stability and spatial multivariate cointegration," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 221(2), pages 337-367.
    41. Ozcan, Burcu & Tzeremes, Panayiotis G. & Tzeremes, Nickolaos G., 2020. "Energy consumption, economic growth and environmental degradation in OECD countries," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 203-213.
    42. Demetrescu, Matei & Kusin, Vladimir & Salish, Nazarii, 2022. "Testing for no cointegration in vector autoregressions with estimated degree of fractional integration," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    43. Ozcan, Burcu & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2019. "Renewable energy consumption-economic growth nexus in emerging countries: A bootstrap panel causality test," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 30-37.
    44. Grabowski, Wojciech & Welfe, Aleksander, 2020. "The Tobit cointegrated vector autoregressive model: An application to the currency market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 88-100.
    45. Nejat, Payam & Jomehzadeh, Fatemeh & Taheri, Mohammad Mahdi & Gohari, Mohammad & Abd. Majid, Muhd Zaimi, 2015. "A global review of energy consumption, CO2 emissions and policy in the residential sector (with an overview of the top ten CO2 emitting countries)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 843-862.
    46. Ebru Çağlayan Akay & Zamira Oskonbaeva & Hoşeng Bülbül, 2020. "What do unit root tests tell us about unemployment hysteresis in transition economies?," Applied Economic Analysis, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(84), pages 221-238, October.
    47. Thai-Ha Le, Youngho Chang, and Donghyun Park, 2020. "Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Consumption, Economic Growth, and Emissions: International Evidence," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 2), pages 73-92.
    48. Peter J. Buckley & Nigel Driffield & Jae-Yeon Kim, 2022. "The Role of Outward FDI in Creating Korean Global Factories," Management International Review, Springer, vol. 62(1), pages 27-52, February.
    49. Nam, KiJeon & Hwangbo, Soonho & Yoo, ChangKyoo, 2020. "A deep learning-based forecasting model for renewable energy scenarios to guide sustainable energy policy: A case study of Korea," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    50. Pretis, Felix, 2020. "Econometric modelling of climate systems: The equivalence of energy balance models and cointegrated vector autoregressions," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 214(1), pages 256-273.
    51. Imen Mohamed Sghaier, 2022. "Foreign Capital Inflows and Economic Growth in North African Countries: the Role of Human Capital," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 13(4), pages 2804-2821, December.
    52. Trang Thi-Huyen Dinh & Duc Hong Vo & Anh The Vo & Thang Cong Nguyen, 2019. "Foreign Direct Investment and Economic Growth in the Short Run and Long Run: Empirical Evidence from Developing Countries," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-11, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Soumen Rej & Barnali Nag & Md. Emran Hossain, 2022. "Can Renewable Energy and Export Help in Reducing Ecological Footprint of India? Empirical Evidence from Augmented ARDL Co-Integration and Dynamic ARDL Simulations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    2. Hossain, Md. Emran & Islam, Md. Sayemul & Bandyopadhyay, Arunava & Awan, Ashar & Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rej, Soumen, 2022. "Mexico at the crossroads of natural resource dependence and COP26 pledge: Does technological innovation help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    3. Zhang, Jinjun & Abbasi, Kashif Raza & Hussain, Khadim & Akram, Sabahat & Alvarado, Rafael & Almulhim, Abdulaziz I., 2022. "Another perspective towards energy consumption factors in Pakistan: Fresh policy insights from novel methodological framework," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 249(C).
    4. Zhang, Qianxiao & Shah, Syed Ale Raza & Yang, Ling, 2022. "An Appreciated Response of Disaggregated Energies Consumption towards the Sustainable Growth: A debate on G-10 Economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    5. Hashemizadeh, Ali & Bui, Quocviet & Zaidi, Syed Anees Haider, 2022. "A blend of renewable and nonrenewable energy consumption in G-7 countries: The role of disaggregate energy in human development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    6. Hlalefang Khobai, 2021. "Renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in Argentina: A Multivariate Co-integration Analysis," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(3), pages 563-570.
    7. Md. Emran Hossain & Soumen Rej & Sourav Mohan Saha & Joshua Chukwuma Onwe & Nnamdi Nwulu & Festus Victor Bekun & Amjad Taha, 2022. "Can Energy Efficiency Help in Achieving Carbon-Neutrality Pledges? A Developing Country Perspective Using Dynamic ARDL Simulations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-18, June.
    8. Florian Marcel Nuţă & Alina Cristina Nuţă & Cristina Gabriela Zamfir & Stefan-Mihai Petrea & Dan Munteanu & Dragos Sebastian Cristea, 2021. "National Carbon Accounting—Analyzing the Impact of Urbanization and Energy-Related Factors upon CO 2 Emissions in Central–Eastern European Countries by Using Machine Learning Algorithms and Panel Data," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-23, May.
    9. Villanthenkodath, Muhammed Ashiq & Mahalik, Mantu Kumar, 2021. "Does economic growth respond to electricity consumption asymmetrically in Bangladesh? The implication for environmental sustainability," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    10. Zheng, Li & Abbasi, Kashif Raza & Salem, Sultan & Irfan, Muhammad & Alvarado, Rafael & Lv, Kangjuan, 2022. "How technological innovation and institutional quality affect sectoral energy consumption in Pakistan? Fresh policy insights from novel econometric approach," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    11. Zhongwei, Huang & Liu, Yishu, 2022. "The role of eco-innovations, trade openness, and human capital in sustainable renewable energy consumption: Evidence using CS-ARDL approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P1), pages 131-140.
    12. Liu, Yaping & Sadiq, Farah & Ali, Wajahat & Kumail, Tafazal, 2022. "Does tourism development, energy consumption, trade openness and economic growth matters for ecological footprint: Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve and pollution haven hypothesis for Pakistan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    13. Kumar, Nikeel Nishkar & Patel, Arvind, 2023. "Nonlinear effect of air travel tourism demand on economic growth in Fiji," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    14. Yugang He, 2022. "Renewable and Non-Renewable Energy Consumption and Trade Policy: Do They Matter for Environmental Sustainability?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-17, May.
    15. Roy, Arup, 2023. "Nexus between economic growth, external debt, oil price, and remittances in India: New insight from novel DARDL simulations," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Akan, Taner & Gündüz, Halil İbrahim & Emirmahmutoğlu, Furkan & Işık, Ali Haydar, 2023. "Disaggregating renewable energy-growth nexus: W-ARDL and W-Toda-Yamamoto approaches," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    17. Oryani, Bahareh & Koo, Yoonmo & Rezania, Shahabaldin & Shafiee, Afsaneh, 2021. "Investigating the asymmetric impact of energy consumption on reshaping future energy policy and economic growth in Iran using extended Cobb-Douglas production function," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    18. Yang, Zhendong & Abbas, Qaiser & Hanif, Imran & Alharthi, Majed & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Aziz, Babar & Mohsin, Muhammad, 2021. "Short- and long-run influence of energy utilization and economic growth on carbon discharge in emerging SREB economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(P1), pages 43-51.
    19. Wan, Qilong & Miao, Xiaodong & Afshan, Sahar, 2022. "Dynamic effects of natural resource abundance, green financing, and government environmental concerns toward the sustainable environment in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    20. Hassan, Taimoor & Song, Huaming & Khan, Yasir & Kirikkaleli, Dervis, 2022. "Energy efficiency a source of low carbon energy sources? Evidence from 16 high-income OECD economies," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:5:p:2074-:d:1349965. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.