Do oil revenues accelerate energy transitions in OPEC countries? Exploring the roles of globalization and corruption perceptions

This research aims to contribute to the debate on the energy transition in the OPEC and non-OPEC countries by examining the roles of oil revenues, corruption, and globalization in driving this transition. The study employs the moment of method quantile regression approach, covering 2000 to 2021. The analysis reveals that oil revenues, corruption perceptions, and globalization positively influence renewable energy capacity. However, economic growth reduces renewable energy capacity. Notably, the interaction among oil rents, corruption perceptions, and economic growth reduces renewable energy capacity across all the quantiles in OPEC countries. Furthermore, in the case of non-OPEC countries, the corruption perceptions, economic growth, globalization, and the interaction of oil revenues and corruption perceptions have positively influenced the renewable energy capacity, except oil revenues reduce the renewable energy capacity. The panel causality analysis revealed a bidirectional causality relationship between oil rents, corruption perceptions, economic growth, and renewable power capacity in OPEC countries and, in the case of non-OPEC countries, the causality test showed the existence of bidirectional causality between oil revenues, corruption perceptions, globalization, and renewable energy capacity. Based on these findings, the study recommends diversifying and strengthening fiscal rent sources to promote renewable energy development and reforming financial frameworks to accelerate the energy transition.