IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i9p3390-d809729.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Renewable Energy, Urbanization, and CO 2 Emissions: A Global Test

Author

Listed:
  • Urszula Gierałtowska

    (Department of Sustainable Finance and Capital Markets, Institute of Economics and Finance, University of Szczecin, 71-101 Szczecin, Poland)

  • Roman Asyngier

    (Department of Insurance and Investments, Faculty of Economics, Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin, 20-036 Lublin, Poland)

  • Joanna Nakonieczny

    (Department of Finance, Banking and Accountancy, The Faculty of Management, Rzeszow University of Technology, 35-959 Rzeszow, Poland)

  • Raufhon Salahodjaev

    (Department of Mathematical Methods in Economics, Tashkent State University of Economics, 49 O’zbekiston Shoh Ko’chasi, Tashkent 100066, Uzbekistan)

Abstract

A fixed effects regression and two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) is used to analyze secondary data from the World Bank, covering 163 countries over the period from 2000 to 2016. The study tests the relationship between renewable energy, urbanization, and CO 2 emissions. The empirical results show that urbanization has an inverted U-shaped relationship with CO 2 emissions, while renewable energy consumption mitigates CO 2 emissions. If causal, a 1% increase in renewable energy use leads to a 1.2% decrease in CO 2 emissions. The results also show that the GDP per capita has an inverted U-shaped relationship with CO 2 emissions, confirming the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). We also found that innovation, proxied by residents’ patents, has a non-linear effect on CO 2 emissions. As a policy implication, developing countries should increase the share of renewable energy in their total energy use, and promote innovative activities by increasing government spending on R&D.

Suggested Citation

  • Urszula Gierałtowska & Roman Asyngier & Joanna Nakonieczny & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2022. "Renewable Energy, Urbanization, and CO 2 Emissions: A Global Test," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:9:p:3390-:d:809729
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/9/3390/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/9/3390/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Maruotti, Antonello, 2011. "The impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions: Evidence from developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1344-1353, May.
    2. Asongu, Simplice A. & Le Roux, Sara & Biekpe, Nicholas, 2018. "Enhancing ICT for environmental sustainability in sub-Saharan Africa," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 209-216.
    3. Ben Jebli, Mehdi & Farhani, Sahbi & Guesmi, Khaled, 2020. "Renewable energy, CO2 emissions and value added: Empirical evidence from countries with different income levels," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 402-410.
    4. Kaika, Dimitra & Zervas, Efthimios, 2013. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) theory—Part A: Concept, causes and the CO2 emissions case," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1392-1402.
    5. Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur & Vu, Xuan-Binh, 2020. "The nexus between renewable energy, economic growth, trade, urbanisation and environmental quality: A comparative study for Australia and Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 617-627.
    6. Bhattacharya, Mita & Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa & Paramati, Sudharshan Reddy, 2017. "The dynamic impact of renewable energy and institutions on economic output and CO2 emissions across regions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 157-167.
    7. Jones, Donald W., 1991. "How urbanization affects energy-use in developing countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 19(7), pages 621-630, September.
    8. Shahnazi, Rouhollah & Dehghan Shabani, Zahra, 2021. "The effects of renewable energy, spatial spillover of CO2 emissions and economic freedom on CO2 emissions in the EU," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 293-307.
    9. Sharif Hossain, Md., 2011. "Panel estimation for CO2 emissions, energy consumption, economic growth, trade openness and urbanization of newly industrialized countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(11), pages 6991-6999.
    10. Zhang, Ning & Yu, Keren & Chen, Zhongfei, 2017. "How does urbanization affect carbon dioxide emissions? A cross-country panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 678-687.
    11. Ito, Katsuya, 2017. "CO2 emissions, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, and economic growth: Evidence from panel data for developing countries," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 1-6.
    12. Kolade Sunday Adesina & John W. Muteba Mwamba, 2019. "Does Economic Freedom Matter For CO2 Emissions? Lessons From Africa," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 53(3), pages 155-167, Summer.
    13. Matheus Koengkan & José Alberto Fuinhas & Renato Santiago, 2020. "The relationship between CO2 emissions, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, economic growth, and urbanisation in the Southern Common Market," Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(4), pages 383-401, October.
    14. Inglesi-Lotz, Roula & Dogan, Eyup, 2018. "The role of renewable versus non-renewable energy to the level of CO2 emissions a panel analysis of sub- Saharan Africa’s Βig 10 electricity generators," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 36-43.
    15. Hu, Hui & Xie, Nan & Fang, Debin & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2018. "The role of renewable energy consumption and commercial services trade in carbon dioxide reduction: Evidence from 25 developing countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1229-1244.
    16. Arvin, Mak B. & Pradhan, Rudra P. & Norman, Neville R., 2015. "Transportation intensity, urbanization, economic growth, and CO2 emissions in the G-20 countries," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 50-66.
    17. Liu, Yaobin, 2009. "Exploring the relationship between urbanization and energy consumption in China using ARDL (autoregressive distributed lag) and FDM (factor decomposition model)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(11), pages 1846-1854.
    18. Adams, Samuel & Klobodu, Edem Kwame Mensah & Apio, Alfred, 2018. "Renewable and non-renewable energy, regime type and economic growth," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 755-767.
    19. Mehmet Akif Destek & Esra Balli & Muge Manga, 2016. "The Relationship between CO2 Emission, Energy Consumption, Urbanization and Trade Openness for Selected CEECs," Research in World Economy, Research in World Economy, Sciedu Press, vol. 7(1), pages 52-58, June.
    20. Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur & Alam, Khosrul, 2021. "Clean energy, population density, urbanization and environmental pollution nexus: Evidence from Bangladesh," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1063-1072.
    21. Fuzhong Chen & Guohai Jiang & Getachew Magnar Kitila, 2021. "Trade Openness and CO 2 Emissions: The Heterogeneous and Mediating Effects for the Belt and Road Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    22. Al-mulali, Usama & Binti Che Sab, Che Normee & Fereidouni, Hassan Gholipour, 2012. "Exploring the bi-directional long run relationship between urbanization, energy consumption, and carbon dioxide emission," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 156-167.
    23. Bilgili, Faik & Koçak, Emrah & Bulut, Ümit & Kuloğlu, Ayhan, 2017. "The impact of urbanization on energy intensity: Panel data evidence considering cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 242-256.
    24. Wu, Rong & Wang, Jieyu & Wang, Shaojian & Feng, Kuishuang, 2021. "The drivers of declining CO2 emissions trends in developed nations using an extended STIRPAT model: A historical and prospective analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    25. Özbuğday, Fatih Cemil & Erbas, Bahar Celikkol, 2015. "How effective are energy efficiency and renewable energy in curbing CO2 emissions in the long run? A heterogeneous panel data analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 734-745.
    26. Andreoni, Valeria & Galmarini, Stefano, 2016. "Drivers in CO2 emissions variation: A decomposition analysis for 33 world countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 27-37.
    27. Kasman, Adnan & Duman, Yavuz Selman, 2015. "CO2 emissions, economic growth, energy consumption, trade and urbanization in new EU member and candidate countries: A panel data analysis," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 97-103.
    28. Liu, Xuyi & Kong, Hao & Zhang, Shun, 2021. "Can urbanization, renewable energy, and economic growth make environment more eco-friendly in Northeast Asia?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 23-33.
    29. Katsuya Ito, 2017. "CO2 emissions, renewable and non-renewable energy consumption, and economic growth: Evidence from panel data for developing countries," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 151, pages 1-6.
    30. Suwin Sandu & Muyi Yang & Teuku Meurah Indra Mahlia & Wongkot Wongsapai & Hwai Chyuan Ong & Nandy Putra & S. M. Ashrafur Rahman, 2019. "Energy-Related CO 2 Emissions Growth in ASEAN Countries: Trends, Drivers and Policy Implications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-15, December.
    31. Dogan, Eyup & Seker, Fahri, 2016. "Determinants of CO2 emissions in the European Union: The role of renewable and non-renewable energy," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 429-439.
    32. Apergis, Nicholas & Payne, James E. & Menyah, Kojo & Wolde-Rufael, Yemane, 2010. "On the causal dynamics between emissions, nuclear energy, renewable energy, and economic growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(11), pages 2255-2260, September.
    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. Zebo Kuldasheva & Raufhon Salahodjaev, 2023. "Renewable Energy and CO2 Emissions: Evidence from Rapidly Urbanizing Countries," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(2), pages 1077-1090, June.
    2. Kangyin Dong & Xiucheng Dong & Qingzhe Jiang, 2020. "How renewable energy consumption lower global CO2 emissions? Evidence from countries with different income levels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1665-1698, June.
    3. Suyi Kim, 2022. "The Effects of Information and Communication Technology, Economic Growth, Trade Openness, and Renewable Energy on CO 2 Emissions in OECD Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-15, March.
    4. Liobikienė, Genovaitė & Butkus, Mindaugas, 2019. "Scale, composition, and technique effects through which the economic growth, foreign direct investment, urbanization, and trade affect greenhouse gas emissions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 1310-1322.
    5. Chen, Chaoyi & Pinar, Mehmet & Stengos, Thanasis, 2022. "Renewable energy and CO2 emissions: New evidence with the panel threshold model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 117-128.
    6. Xiangrong Ma & Jianping Ge & Wei Wang, 2017. "The relationship between urbanization, income growth and carbon dioxide emissions and the policy implications for China: a cointegrated vector error correction (VEC) analysis," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 87(2), pages 1017-1033, June.
    7. Li, Ke & Lin, Boqiang, 2015. "Impacts of urbanization and industrialization on energy consumption/CO2 emissions: Does the level of development matter?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 1107-1122.
    8. Yang Ding & Qing Yang & Lanjuan Cao, 2021. "Examining the Impacts of Economic, Social, and Environmental Factors on the Relationship between Urbanization and CO 2 Emissions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-23, November.
    9. Mohammed Musah & Yusheng Kong & Isaac Adjei Mensah & Stephen Kwadwo Antwi & Mary Donkor, 2021. "The connection between urbanization and carbon emissions: a panel evidence from West Africa," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11525-11552, August.
    10. Dong, Kangyin & Hochman, Gal & Zhang, Yaqing & Sun, Renjin & Li, Hui & Liao, Hua, 2018. "CO2 emissions, economic and population growth, and renewable energy: Empirical evidence across regions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 180-192.
    11. Jiang Qingquan & Shoukat Iqbal Khattak & Manzoor Ahmad & Lin Ping, 2020. "A new approach to environmental sustainability: Assessing the impact of monetary policy on CO2 emissions in Asian economies," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1331-1346, September.
    12. Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur & Sultana, Nahid & Velayutham, Eswaran, 2022. "Renewable energy, energy intensity and carbon reduction: Experience of large emerging economies," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 252-265.
    13. Hanen Ragoubi & Zouheir Mighri, 2021. "Spillover effects of trade openness on CO2 emissions in middle‐income countries: A spatial panel data approach," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 13(3), pages 835-877, June.
    14. Zhang, Ning & Yu, Keren & Chen, Zhongfei, 2017. "How does urbanization affect carbon dioxide emissions? A cross-country panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 678-687.
    15. Aristophane Djeufack Dongmo & Paloma Mbengono Coralie & Manuela Chetue Komguep & Ulrich Kembeng Tchinda, 2023. "Urbanization, informal economy, economic growth and CO2 emissions in African countries: a panel vector autoregression (PVAR) model approach," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 25(1), pages 35-63, April.
    16. Rahman, Mohammad Mafizur & Alam, Khosrul, 2022. "Impact of industrialization and non-renewable energy on environmental pollution in Australia: Do renewable energy and financial development play a mitigating role?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 203-213.
    17. Sinha, Avik & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Balsalobre, Daniel, 2017. "Exploring the Relationship between Energy Usage Segregation and Environmental Degradation in N-11 Countries," MPRA Paper 81212, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 07 Sep 2017.
    18. Anwar, Ahsan & Siddique, Muhammad & Eyup Dogan, & Sharif, Arshian, 2021. "The moderating role of renewable and non-renewable energy in environment-income nexus for ASEAN countries: Evidence from Method of Moments Quantile Regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 956-967.
    19. Wang, Shaojian & Li, Guangdong & Fang, Chuanglin, 2018. "Urbanization, economic growth, energy consumption, and CO2 emissions: Empirical evidence from countries with different income levels," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 2144-2159.
    20. Khalid Khan & Chi-Wei Su & Ran Tao & Lin-Na Hao, 2020. "Urbanization and carbon emission: causality evidence from the new industrialized economies," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(8), pages 7193-7213, December.

    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:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:9:p:3390-:d:809729. 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.