IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v33y2025i6p8511-8526.html

Do Anti‐Corruption and Renewable Energy Drive Environmental Sustainability? Testing the EKC Hypothesis for G20 Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Suleyman Yurtkuran
  • Abdulgazi Yıkıcı
  • Çağrı Çolak

Abstract

The environment must be preserved in its natural form so that humanity can benefit from it. However, pollution is increasing for many reasons, especially due to human activities, and a sustainable environment is in danger. Many studies have been conducted in different countries to make predictions, work out solutions, and raise awareness on this issue. The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of economic growth, anti‐corruption, hydropower, and renewable energy consumption on the ecological footprint, one of the environmental indicators, for the period 2002–2022 in the G20 countries. Using the method of moment quantile regression analysis and the half‐panel jackknife causality method recently introduced in the literature, this study investigated the relationship between the variables. Both the regression analysis and the causality method showed that anti‐corruption and renewable energy reduce pollution, while hydropower energy increases environmental pollution. Furthermore, it is found that the EKC hypothesis is valid.

Suggested Citation

  • Suleyman Yurtkuran & Abdulgazi Yıkıcı & Çağrı Çolak, 2025. "Do Anti‐Corruption and Renewable Energy Drive Environmental Sustainability? Testing the EKC Hypothesis for G20 Countries," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(6), pages 8511-8526, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:6:p:8511-8526
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.70108
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.70108
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.70108?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Elias Soukiazis & Sara Proença & Pedro A. Cerqueira, 2019. "The Interconnections between Renewable Energy, Economic Development and Environmental Pollution: A Simultaneous Equation System Approach," The Energy Journal, , vol. 40(4), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Panayiotis Tzeremes, 2020. "The impact of total factor productivity on energy consumption and CO2 emissions in G20 countries," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(3), pages 2179-2192.
    3. Ranjan Aneja & Umer J. Banday & Tanzeem Hasnat & Mustafa Koçoglu, 2017. "Renewable and Non-renewable Energy Consumption and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Panel Error Correction Model," Jindal Journal of Business Research, , vol. 6(1), pages 76-85, June.
    4. Muhammad Mar’I & Mehdi Seraj & Turgut Tursoy, 2023. "The Role of Fiscal Policy in G20 Countries in the Context of the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-16, February.
    5. Ugur Korkut Pata & Selin Karlilar Pata, 2024. "Towards sustainable development in African countries: Are modern and combustible renewable energies effective?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 6493-6503, December.
    6. Yurtkuran, Suleyman, 2021. "The effect of agriculture, renewable energy production, and globalization on CO2 emissions in Turkey: A bootstrap ARDL approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1236-1245.
    7. T. S. Breusch & A. R. Pagan, 1980. "The Lagrange Multiplier Test and its Applications to Model Specification in Econometrics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 47(1), pages 239-253.
    8. Hiva Rastegar & Gabriel Eweje & Aymen Sajjad, 2024. "The impact of environmental policy on renewable energy innovation: A systematic literature review and research directions," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 3859-3876, August.
    9. Cole, Matthew A., 2007. "Corruption, income and the environment: An empirical analysis," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3-4), pages 637-647, May.
    10. Ivan A. Canay, 2011. "A simple approach to quantile regression for panel data," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 14(3), pages 368-386, October.
    11. Koenker, Roger, 2004. "Quantile regression for longitudinal data," Journal of Multivariate Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(1), pages 74-89, October.
    12. Sohag, Kazi & Husain, Shaiara & Soytas, Ugur, 2024. "Environmental policy stringency and ecological footprint linkage: Mitigation measures of renewable energy and innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    13. Narasingha Das & Md. Emran Hossain & Pinki Bera & Partha Gangopadhyay & Javier Cifuentes-Faura & Ranjan Aneja & Mustafa Kamal, 2025. "Decarbonization through sustainable energy technologies: Asymmetric evidence from 20 most innovative nations across the globe," Energy & Environment, , vol. 36(1), pages 374-390, February.
    14. Firat Emir & Selin Karlilar, 2023. "Application of RALS cointegration test assessing the role of natural resources and hydropower energy on ecological footprint in emerging economy," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(4), pages 764-779, June.
    15. repec:aen:journl:ej40-4-cerqueira is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Artūras Juodis & Yiannis Karavias & Vasilis Sarafidis, 2021. "A homogeneous approach to testing for Granger non-causality in heterogeneous panels," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(1), pages 93-112, January.
    17. Maurizio Lisciandra & Carlo Migliardo, 2017. "An Empirical Study of the Impact of Corruption on Environmental Performance: Evidence from Panel Data," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(2), pages 297-318, October.
    18. Joakim Westerlund, 2008. "Panel cointegration tests of the Fisher effect," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 23(2), pages 193-233.
    19. Guangyu Luo & Jia-Hsi Weng & Qianxue Zhang & Yu Hao, 2017. "A reexamination of the existence of environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 emissions: evidence from G20 countries," 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. 85(2), pages 1023-1042, January.
    20. Wang, Chen & Raza, Syed Ali & Adebayo, Tomiwa Sunday & Yi, Sun & Shah, Muhammad Ibrahim, 2023. "The roles of hydro, nuclear and biomass energy towards carbon neutrality target in China: A policy-based analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PA).
    21. Luo, Heng & Sun, Ying, 2024. "The impact of energy efficiency on ecological footprint in the presence of EKC: Evidence from G20 countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 304(C).
    22. Vincenzo Varriale & Mark Anthony Camilleri & Antonello Cammarano & Francesca Michelino & Julian Müller & Serena Strazzullo, 2025. "Unleashing digital transformation to achieve the sustainable development goals across multiple sectors," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 565-579, February.
    23. Jian Wang & Yuzhen Zhang & Angelina Kissiwaa Twum & Andrew Osei Agyemang, 2024. "Realizing sustainable development goals in sub‐Saharan Africa: The role of industrialization on consumption‐based carbon emission," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(3), pages 2666-2677, June.
    24. Maoyong Cheng & Yutong Yao, 2023. "Does anti-corruption contribute to improving environmental pollution in China?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(32), pages 3766-3787, July.
    25. Rafael Alvarado & Elisa Toledo, 2017. "Environmental degradation and economic growth: evidence for a developing country," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1205-1218, August.
    26. Zahoor Ahmed & Mahmood Ahmad & Husam Rjoub & Olga A. Kalugina & Nazim Hussain, 2022. "Economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and ecological footprint: Exploring the role of environmental regulations and democracy in sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(4), pages 595-605, August.
    27. Tsoutsos, Theocharis & Frantzeskaki, Niki & Gekas, Vassilis, 2005. "Environmental impacts from the solar energy technologies," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 289-296, February.
    28. Waqar Ahmad & Babar Hussain, 2024. "Shadow Economy and Environmental Pollution Nexus in Developing Countries: What is the Role of Corruption?," International Economic Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 38(2), pages 293-311, April.
    29. Hache, Emmanuel, 2018. "Do renewable energies improve energy security in the long run?," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 127-135.
    30. Lv, Zhike & Gao, Zhenya, 2021. "The effect of corruption on environmental performance: Does spatial dependence play a role?," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    31. Abdul Majid Awan & Muhammad Azam, 2022. "Evaluating the impact of GDP per capita on environmental degradation for G-20 economies: Does N-shaped environmental Kuznets curve exist?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(9), pages 11103-11126, September.
    32. Westerlund, Joakim, 2006. "Reducing the size distortions of the panel LM Test for cointegration," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 90(3), pages 384-389, March.
    33. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2007. "A simple panel unit root test in the presence of cross-section dependence," Journal of Applied Econometrics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 22(2), pages 265-312.
    34. Lopez, Ramon & Mitra, Siddhartha, 2000. "Corruption, Pollution, and the Kuznets Environment Curve," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 137-150, 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. Ma, Fenfen & Saleem, Hummera & Ding, Xueting & Nazir, Sidra & Tariq, Salman, 2024. "Do natural resource rents, green technological innovation, and renewable energy matter for ecological sustainability? Role of green policies in testing the environmental kuznets curve hypothesis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Talan, Amogh & Rao, Amar & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Apostu, Simona-Andreea & Abbas, Shujaat, 2023. "Transition towards clean energy consumption in G7: Can financial sector, ICT and democracy help?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    3. Muhammad Azam Khan & Salma Zahir & Sardar Fawad Saleem, 2026. "The role of inflation and institutional quality in shaping healthcare expenditure: Insights from Asia–Pacific countries," International Economics and Economic Policy, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 1-39, February.
    4. Javed, Asif & Shabir, Maria & Rao, Fabeha & Uddin, Muhammad Salah, 2025. "Effect of green technological innovation and financial development on green energy transition in N-11 countries: Evidence from the novel Method of Moments Quantile Regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    5. Hui Hou & Siwei Yang & Minghao Zhang, 2023. "The impact of anti‐corruption on environmental governance efficiency in China: A study based on spatial effect," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 44(8), pages 4452-4465, December.
    6. Taner Güney & Ersin Nail Sağdıç, 2025. "Government Effectiveness, Solar Energy, and CO2 Emissions in OECD Countries: A Panel Quantile Regression Approach," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(3), pages 11836-11855, September.
    7. Destek, Mehmet Akif & Manga, Müge & Cengiz, Orhan & Destek, Gamze, 2022. "Investigating the potential of renewable energy in establishing global peace: Fresh evidence from top energy consumer countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 170-177.
    8. Lobna Abid & Sana Kacem & Haifa Saadaoui, 2024. "Addressing the Environmental Kuznets Curve in the West African Countries: Exploring the Roles of FDI, Corruption, and Renewable Energy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 20491-20515, December.
    9. Habiba, Umme & Xinbang, Cao, 2023. "The contribution of different aspects of financial development to renewable energy consumption in E7 countries: The transition to a sustainable future," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 703-714.
    10. Luo, Heng & Sun, Ying & Tao, Xiaosha & Tan, Wenwu & Kamarudin, Fakarudin, 2024. "Effects of global value chains on energy efficiency in G20 countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    11. Ming Zhong & Jingjing Yu & Syed Anees Haider Zaidi, 2024. "Investigating the Impact of Financial Inclusion on Energy Consumption: Does Corruption Matter?," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8797-8814, June.
    12. Ugur Korkut Pata & Selin Karlilar Pata, 2024. "Towards sustainable development in African countries: Are modern and combustible renewable energies effective?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(6), pages 6493-6503, December.
    13. Arshad Ali & Guo Xiangyu, 2025. "Renewable energy generation, agricultural value added and globalization in relation to environmental degradation in the five most populous countries in Asia," Energy & Environment, , vol. 36(3), pages 1484-1508, May.
    14. Bright Akwasi Gyamfi & Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Divine Q. Agozie & Festus Victor Bekun & Ayben Koy, 2025. "Is sustainable energy consumption, technological advancement and urbanization fast addressing south Asia’s green energy expansion deficits?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(8), pages 19969-19998, August.
    15. Khan, Syed Abdul Rehman & Ponce, Pablo & Yu, Zhang & Ponce, Katerine, 2022. "Investigating economic growth and natural resource dependence: An asymmetric approach in developed and developing economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Uzar, Umut, 2024. "The dynamic effect of income distribution, natural resources, and freedom of press on ecological footprint: Theory and empirical evidence for emerging economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    17. Hossain, Mohammad Razib & Rao, Amar & Sharma, Gagan Deep & Dev, Dhairya & Kharbanda, Aeshna, 2024. "Empowering energy transition: Green innovation, digital finance, and the path to sustainable prosperity through green finance initiatives," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    18. Nabila Abid & Junaid Aftab & Aamir Javed, 2025. "The impact of green technological innovation and environmental policy on ecological sustainability: evidence from leading economies," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 1-28, December.
    19. Muhammad Zahid Rafique & Nicolas Schneider & Umer Shahzad & Malin Song, 2022. "High‐tech industries, financial expansion, and low‐carbon energy deployment along the Belt and Road Initiative," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1779-1795, December.
    20. Saban Nazlioglu & Cagin Karul, 2024. "Testing for Granger causality in heterogeneous panels with cross-sectional dependence," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(4), pages 1541-1579, October.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:wly:sustdv:v:33:y:2025:i:6:p:8511-8526. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.