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Roadmap for achieving energy sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: The mediating role of energy use efficiency
Abstract
The objective of this study is to evaluate whether improving the efficiency at which energy is employed can help Sub-Saharan African nations to attain their energy sustainability objectives. As opposed to the conventional approaches, the multidimensional aspects of energy sustainability are captured in this study by predicting an energy sustainability index using four key targets mentioned under the seventh sustainable development goal. Overall, for the entire panel, the findings reveal that a 1% rise in the energy efficiency level increases the energy sustainability index by around 11% in the long run. Thus, energy efficiency improvements can be expected to complement the energy sustainability agenda of the Sub-Saharan African nations. In contrast, economic growth is witnessed to impede energy sustainability within these nations. However, the results also certify that energy efficiency improvement performs a mediating role in neutralizing the energy sustainability-dampening effects of economic growth. In addition, carbon dioxide emissions-related environmental adversities are found to encourage the Sub-Saharan African nations to implement policies related to attainment of energy sustainability Besides, trade and financial globalization are witnessed to impede and stimulate energy sustainability, respectively, across this region. Moreover, financial development is seen to facilitate energy sustainability while higher population growth is observed to abate energy sustainability across Sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, implementation of the Kyoto Protocol is found to be contributing to the attainment of energy sustainability by these nations. In light of these findings, several energy sustainability-related policies are recommended.
... Notably, in the 13th SDG (SDG-13 from hereafter), the utmost importance of reducing carbon emissions for battling climatic adversities has been duly manifested (He et al. 2023;Yang et al. 2023). On the other hand, the 7th SDG (SDG-7 from hereafter) insists on ensuring plentiful access to clean/renewable energy globally Murshed et al. 2022;Huang et al. 2022). Therefore, the policy takeaways from this study can be assumed to guide the BRICS nations in making plans relevant for partially realizing the 2030 SDG agenda. ...
... Among the explanatory variables, REC refers to renewable energy consumption which is measured in terms of renewable energy's share of total final energy consumption level. This variable is often said to be indicative of the extent of the RET whereby a rise in this share denotes a successful transition from non-renewable to renewable energy and vice versa (Murshed 2023;Awijen et al., 2022;Murshed et al. 2022). Theoretically, due to renewable energy being considered clean Tiba and Belaid 2021;Ahmed et al., 2022), the transition to renewable energy can be expected to cut down emissions whereby the annual CO 2 emission growth rate can be expected to decline (thus, 1 is hypothesized to be negative). ...
... As a result, under such a scenario, more influx of FDI can result in a rise in the CO 2 emission growth rate (thus, 3 is hypothesized to be positive). On the flip side, using the conceptual framework of the pollution halo effect hypothesis (PHEH), if inward FDI assists in the dissemination of clean technologies (Murshed et al. 2022), then a CO 2 emission growth rate-reduction impact can be expected (thus, 3 can be negative, as well). Furthermore, considering the relevance of greening financial mechanisms in ensuring environmental sustainability (Zhang et al. 2022;Lu et al. 2023), the inclusion of this foreign financial variable in our model can be deemed justified. ...
The BRICS countries ratified the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals agenda whereby ensuring environmental sustainability is of paramount importance for these emerging market economies. Although the BRICS nations have recorded noteworthy economic growth trajectories over the last couple of decades, these nations have not fared well in terms of improving their environmental indicators, especially due to gradually becoming more fossil fuel dependent over time. Hence, this study aims to explore whether undergoing the renewable energy transition can directly and indirectly establish environmental sustainability in the BRICS countries by containing their annual growth rates of carbon dioxide emissions. Additionally, the emission growth rate–influencing effects of technological innovation, foreign direct investment receipts, urbanization, and institutional quality are also evaluated. Based on data spanning from 1996 to 2021 and considering the result obtained using advanced panel data estimators, the findings endorse that the yearly carbon emission growth rates are (a) unaffected by undergoing the renewable energy transition on its own; (b) positively impacted by technological innovation, net receipts of foreign direct investment, and urbanization; and (c) negatively impacted by improving institutional quality through effective controlling of the spread of corruption. More importantly, the results verify the joint carbon emission growth rate–mitigating impact of renewable energy transition and institutional quality improvement. Hence, for abating the emission growth rate figures, several policies are prescribed.
... Indeed, researchers have called for further analyses of nonlinear links among these variables (Nuber and Velte, 2021). Few studies have considered the mediating role of EE Murshed et al., 2022), so we also test the mediating role of EE in the creation of firms' innovation. ...
... Similarly, apart from assessing only the independent impacts, very few studies have examined EE's mediating role Murshed et al., 2022). Recent studies have shown that EE could act as a mediator in neutralizing the energy sustainability-inhibiting effects of economic growth (Murshed et al., 2022) and that EE mediates the relationship between industrial structure adjustment and CO 2 emissions . ...
... Similarly, apart from assessing only the independent impacts, very few studies have examined EE's mediating role Murshed et al., 2022). Recent studies have shown that EE could act as a mediator in neutralizing the energy sustainability-inhibiting effects of economic growth (Murshed et al., 2022) and that EE mediates the relationship between industrial structure adjustment and CO 2 emissions . Therefore, as EE and firms' innovativeness are connected parts of the same managerial puzzle (Gerstlberger et al., 2014), we contribute to the current knowledge by analysing EE's mediating role in firms' creation of innovations. ...
... The role of renewable energy in the transition of the energy sector is critical, as shown by Ahmad and Zhang (2020), Dahmani et al. (2021b), and Murshed et al. (2022), who emphasize the need to mitigate the environmental impacts of traditional energy sources. The evolution of the transportation sector towards sustainability is elaborated by Hasan et al. (2019), Li et al. (2021), and Alotaibi et al. (2022), pointing to the importance of sustainable mobility solutions in minimizing the environmental footprint of urban development. ...
... At the same time, nuanced natural resource management, highlighted by Brandt et al. (2017) and Oluc et al. (2023), is proving to be crucial in reducing environmental impacts and promoting sustainability. In the energy domain, a key facet of the index, the focus on efficiency, underscored by Ahmad and Zhang (2020) and Murshed et al. (2022), plays a critical role in guiding sustainable economic development and presumably mitigating environmental harms. In addition, in the transportation sector, efforts towards energy efficiency and the adoption of less polluting technologies, as described by Hasan et al. (2019) and Alotaibi et al. (2022), are in line with the trends identified in our findings. ...
This study examines the complex relation among environmental taxes, productive capacities, urbanization, and their collective effects on environmental quality in Africa, drawing on two decades of data from twenty African countries. It situates the study within the broader discourse on sustainable development and economic growth, emphasizing the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework to examine the relationship between economic development, characterized by urban expansion and increased productive capacities, and the adoption of environmental taxes amidst the continent’s diverse economic and environmental environments. Using advanced econometric techniques, including the Cross-Section Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model and the Dynamic Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (DCCEMG) estimator, the study addresses data challenges such as cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity. The results provide important insights into the dynamics of environmental quality in relation to economic and urban growth and the role of environmental taxation. The study proposes tailored policy strategies aimed at strengthening sustainable development initiatives in line with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. These strategies advocate for a nuanced application of environmental taxes and the promotion of productive capacities to enhance environmental sustainability across the African continent.
... The IPAT framework has been further developed through the Kaya identity equation, which posits that T is influenced by the technological composition of the energy mix, specifically, the energy intensity and carbon intensity of energy consumption [26,27]. The energy intensity (EI) trajectory focuses on the technological makeup of the energy mix by recognizing that greater energy conservation and economic efficiency can lead to reduced environmental impact of energy consumption [28]. The carbon intensity (CI) path underscores the carbon content of fossil fuels in the energy structure and the environmental balance that green energy sources can provide in the carbon mitigation model [29]. ...
... The elasticity coefficient of EI is positive and statistically significant and indicates that a percentage increase in energy intensity increases CO 2 emissions by 0.97 % (see column 2). The finding resonates with the study of Murshed et al. [28] on the energy intensity (EI) path tracks from the perspective that allowing for greater energy conservation and economic efficiency reduces the environmental impact of energy consumption. This could also be interpreted to mean a 0.97 % decrease in CO 2 emissions for a percentage increase in energy efficiency. ...
This study models the Kaya identity equation for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in a panel of 20 oil-rich countries from 1994 to 2019. The estimators used are robust to cross-sectional dependence and allow for heterogeneous slope coefficients. The results indicate that natural resource extraction hinders environmental sustainability in oil-rich countries by altering the structural composition of their consumption mix towards energy- and carbon-intensive technologies. However, this relationship is only significant after reaching a turning point level of resource extraction. This suggests that the carbon curse is only triggered at higher levels of resource dependence, supporting a U-shaped relationship between natural resource extraction and CO2 emissions. The threshold for the natural rents to GDP ratio, beyond which natural resource extraction triggers the carbon curse, is found to be 12.18 %. The vulnerability assessment reveals that 17 countries in the panel, including Algeria, Kazakhstan, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, the Congo Republic, and Libya, are already within the carbon curse zone. From a policy perspective, promoting sustainable development in oil-rich economies requires a shift towards renewable energy sources, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and widespread adoption of energy efficiency and conservation mechanisms.
... Therefore, it is preferable to compel people to comply more effectively with minimal resources. According to the literature (Murshed, Khan, & Rahman, 2022), efficacy can mediate. Wang, Wang, and Fan (2021) investigated, in the context of mediation, whether innovation efficiency mediates the relationship between the ecological environment and economic development. ...
... To achieve maximal compliance, it is essential to prioritize efficient administration, as this leads to the most productive use of the fewest resources. In the context of mediation, Murshed et al. (2022) investigated whether energy efficiency serves as a mediator with a road map for attaining energy sustainability. The sample of Sub-Saharan economies was utilized for the investigation. ...
This study aims to examine the influence of tax governance principles on the effectiveness of tax administration and the rise of tax compliance. The study is founded on tax governance, concerned with improving tax system performance, disclosure, and transparency. Applying tax governance principles improves tax administration efficacy and increases tax compliance. The study utilized a quantitative research methodology and questionnaires to collect data from tax experts and Iraqi General Tax Authority officials. Results indicated that tax governance principles such as the development of performance, disclosure, and transparency increase the confidence of those responsible for tax administration and enhance tax collection methods. In addition, the study found that tax administration efficiency substantially mediates between tax governance principles such as performance development, disclosure, and transparency and increases tax compliance. The implications of applying tax governance principles to increase tax administration efficiency, transparency, disclosure, tax compliance, and revenue are discussed. The study also includes recommendations for tax authorities to improve tax administration efficacy and increase transparency and disclosure.
... Also, despite the strong connections amidst member countries of WA, there are still some macroeconomic factors that might cause heterogeneity in the slope parameters. According to Musah (2022a, b) and Murshed et al. (2022a), ignorance of heterogeneity might lead to wrong estimates and inferences. Hence, following Tackie et al. (2022), Chen et al. (2022), and Musah (2022a, b), the homogeneity test of Pesaran and Yamaga (2008) was performed. ...
... If this assumption is rejected, then, the coefficients are heterogeneous. To avoid the consequences of predicting spurious regression coefficients (Musah, 2022a, b;Murshed et al., 2022a;Li et al., 2022a), there is a need to study the integration order of the series. Given that the nations are connected via globalization and trade among others, the adoption of first-generation tests for stationarity was deemed inappropriate, because they do not account for CD, heterogeneity and lack of size properties (Habiba et al., 2022). ...
International organizations have emphasized the importance of global economies supporting efforts to combat climate change. The Paris Agreement or Agenda 2050 urges nations to ensure that the increase in global temperature is limited to 1.5 • C. Studies have analyzed the factors that contribute to harmful emissions, particularly carbon dioxide emissions, in order to limit temperature rise. However, since there are other equally harmful pollutants, this study evaluates the impact of financial inclusion and green investment on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The study uses data from West Africa, where environmental pollution has significantly increased. The study employed regression analysis while controlling for economic growth, foreign direct investment (FDI), and energy consumption. The study's key findings reveal that financial inclusion and green investment have a monotonic effect on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the study confirms the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and the pollution haven effect for the region. Technological innovation reduces pollution, but green investment and financial inclusion reinforce this effect. Therefore, the study recommends that governments in the sub-region commit to supporting green investment and environmentally friendly technological innovations. It is also crucial to strictly enforce laws regulating the operations of multinational corporations in the region.
... Traditionally, the primary cause of rising GHG emissions has been the carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants produced during the production of goods and services, which are key drivers of economic growth and development (Sowah & Kirikkaleli, 2022). Carbon dioxide (CO2) accounts for around 75 % of worldwide GHGs emissions (Murshed et al., 2022a(Murshed et al., , 2022b. Global climate change and severe weather conditions including, floods, droughts, heatwaves, and heavy rains have become common in the recent decade due to rising CO2 levels; an increase in GHG emissions is simply a consequence of economic growth and development. ...
... With the current global trends towards multinational corporations, trade freedom, and the development of international finance, globalization seems like a factor that requires thorough study. In fact, prior study on globalization has mainly focused on assessing the impact of globalization on inequality, poverty and economic growth (Murshed et al., 2022a(Murshed et al., , 2022bKhan et al., 2019). Results noted that excise tax or polluter-pays principle could address (to fund green incentives) air pollution produced by developed nations. ...
In the wake of global warming, the world is in an ecological state of disarray. Consequently, governments across the globe are committing to achieving low temperatures with a target of 1.5 °C, of which South European countries play a key role. This study aims to examine the effects of energy productivity (EP), economic growth (GDP), and globalization (GLO) on CO2 emissions of Cyprus, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Malta (Southern European countries). The study covers the time from 1990 to 2018. Unlike earlier studies, the current analysis considers EP a significant factor in determining CO2 emissions in Southern European countries. Southern European countries primarily represent a group of emerging economies, but it is relatively ignored in empirical environment literature. This study is the first to reveal a newly second-generation connection among EP, GDP, GLO, and CO2 emissions in the Southern European countries by using the novel method of panel cointegration of Westerlund cointegration, Pedroni cointegration, augmented mean group (AMG), common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG), and followed by Dumitrescu–Hurlin causality tests. The empirical results suggest that the variables' effects are cointegrated, and EP reduces CO2 emissions while GDP, and GLO increase CO2 emissions in the South European countries. Furthermore, findings from the Dumitrescu Hurlin panel causality test suggest that any reductions in EP would have a positive impact on the extent of carbon emissions. On the basis of these empirical findings, this study suggests that policy administrators of the South European countries should consider the energy efficiency impact among the variables in setting their environmental, growth, and energy policies.
... The composition effect may alter the pattern of production from dirty to cleaner processes. On the other hand, the technique effect may promote cleaner technologies and/or energy efficiency in the production processes (Khan et al., 2022). In all of this journey, energy consumption would play a significant role in shaping the EKC hypothesis (Shahbaz & Sinha, 2019;Dogan & Turkekul, 2016;Rahman, Nepal & Alam, 2021;Murshed, Haseeb & Alam, 2022). ...
... In all of this journey, energy consumption would play a significant role in shaping the EKC hypothesis (Shahbaz & Sinha, 2019;Dogan & Turkekul, 2016;Rahman, Nepal & Alam, 2021;Murshed, Haseeb & Alam, 2022). Particularly, renewable energy and energy efficiency would play their role in shaping the EKC in the second phase of the EKC (Murshed, Khan & Rahman, 2022;Alam et al., 2022). Among the others, NEC would be more helpful in shifting the economy from the first to the second phase of the EKC to enjoy the fruits of growth without harming the environment (Danish, Ozcan & Ulucak, 2021;. ...
Background
Nuclear energy carries the least environmental effects compared to fossil fuels and most other renewable energy sources. Therefore, nuclear energy transition (NET) would reduce pollution emissions. The present study investigates the role of the NET on CO 2 emissions and tests the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) in the 28 nuclear electricity-producing countries from 1996–2019.
Methods
Along with a focus on the whole panel, countries are divided into three income groups using the World Bank classification, i.e ., three Lower-Middle-Income (LMI), eight Upper-Middle-Income (UMI), and 17 High-Income (HI) countries. The cross-sectional dependence panel data estimation techniques are applied for the long and short run analyses.
Results
In the long run, the EKC is corroborated in HI countries’ panel with estimated positive and negative coefficients of economic growth and its square variable. The Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA are found in the 2 nd stage of the EKC. However, the remaining HI economies are facing 1 st phase of the EKC. Moreover, economic growth has a monotonic positive effect on CO 2 emissions in LMI and UMI economies. NET reduces CO 2 emissions in UMI and HI economies. On the other hand, NET has an insignificant effect on CO 2 emissions in LMI economies. In the short run, the EKC is validated and NET has a negative effect on CO 2 emissions in HI countries and the whole panel. However, NET could not affect CO 2 emissions in LMI and UMI countries. Based on the long-run results, we recommend enhancing nuclear energy transition in UMI and HI economies to reduce CO 2 emissions. In addition, the rest of the world should also build capacity for the nuclear energy transition to save the world from global warming.
... Energy generated from fossil fuels has been identified as a significant cause of pollution [1,25,36,38]. Despite being a major cause of pollution, fossil fuels remain the most used source of energy in Africa and the rest of the world [39,40]. In most African countries, the lack of sufficient and reliable energy supplies has been a significant impediment to economic growth [41]. ...
... Renewable energy is produced from naturally existing sources that are automatically replenished [40]. Many governments have made renewable energy one of their primary goals for minimizing environmental deterioration [36,52]. ...
This study investigates the symmetric and asymmetric linkages within environmental sustainability proxied by ecological footprint (EFP), natural resources (NRR), renewable energy consumption (REC), urbanization (URB), human capital (HC), and government effectiveness (GE) in 27 African countries divided into two subgroups (ecological deficit countries and ecological reserve countries) over the period 1990 to 2018. The study employs the auto-regressive distributed lag (ARDL) model to investigate the symmetric (linear) effect and the nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to study the asymmetric (nonlinear) effects of the variables on EFP. Results of ARDL show that a 1% increase in REC is projected to reduce ecological footprint by 0.17 and 0.2% in ecological deficit and ecological reserve countries. A 1% increase in NRR is estimated to increase ecological footprint by 0.02% in ecological deficit countries but has no impact on the environment in countries with ecological reserves. Similarly, a 1% rise in GE is estimated to increase EFP by 0.04% in Africa but has no impact on the environment in ecological deficit countries. NARDL estimations decomposed REC into positive (negative) shocks, which show that a 1% increase (decrease) in REC is projected to decrease EFP by 0.16% (0.13%) in countries with ecological reserves. Similarly, a positive (negative) shock in NRR is expected to decrease EFP in ecological reserve countries and increase EFP in ecological deficit countries. Results of the Wald tests prove the existence of long-run asymmetry among the variables. The findings indicate that renewable energy consumption enhances environmental quality, while economic growth and natural resource rents reduce environmental quality in Africa over the sampled period.
... With India's degree of technical growth, it is capable of addressing EE and resolving energy security and pollution challenges. The studies of Murshed at al. [12] and Langlois and Yank [13] have noted that EE can serve as a policy target instrument for developing and developed countries aiming towards carbon neutrality. Previous studies [7,14-18] expects that energy efficiency should lead to dwindling carbon emissions; it is, however, perceived that the degree of impact varies across different levels of development, such that clean energy generation in developed countries shows a convergence sign while developing countries are not able to attain convergence due to absence of structural transformation [19]. ...
... This suggests that CO2 emissions are reduced as a result of the methods, technologies, or instruments used in the course of energy activity. These results are consistent with Mirza et al. [7] and Özbuğday and Erbas [12]. Energy efficiency can reduce India's reliance on fossil fuels while improving energy security, energy resource utilization, and industrial performance by lowering operational expenses. ...
The current research sheds light on the nexus between environmental degradation as proxied by carbon dioxide emissions (CO2), energy efficiency (EE), economic growth, manufacturing value-added (MVA), and the interaction effect of EE and MVA in India. Using yearly data from 1980 to 2019, the current study employs dynamic auto-regressive distribution lag (DARDL) simulations and Fourier Toda and Yamamoto causality techniques. The findings of DARDL reveal that as income and MVA rise, environmental quality decreases, while EE improves environmental conditions in both the long and short run. Surprisingly, the interaction term of EE and MVA has a detrimental influence on environmental quality, meaning that India remains unable to provide energy savings technologies to the manufacturing industry. Furthermore, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis is well-founded for India, as the long-run income coefficient is smaller than the short-run coefficient, implying that India is in its scale stage of economy, where economic growth is prioritized over environmental quality. The results of the causality technique reveal that CO2 emissions and EE have a bidirectional association. Therefore, policymakers in India should embrace realistic industrialization strategies combined with moderate decarbonization and energy efficiency initiatives under the umbrella of sustainable industrial and economic growth.
... A widespread and dependable energy supply has not always been guaranteed by centralized energy infrastructures in the MINT countries, a need that is closely connected to their rapidly expanding economies and populations. Access to contemporary fuels and technologies, whether restricted to residential use or expanded to include commercial energy applications, enables greater energy consumption efficiency, which has major positive effects on both human health and climate change (Murshed et al., 2022;Trinh and Chung, 2023). Carbon-rich sources and low-quality coal, which emits the most pollution, have been the main sources of energy used to produce power (Abbas et al., 2025). ...
In the context of Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, and Turkey (MINT) countries, this study investigates the relationship between renewable energy consumption and access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking as well as access to electricity. When control variables and time-fixed effects were taken into account, panel data regressions were utilized to investigate the effects of specific SDG 7 indicators from the data of Sustainable Development Report for years 2000 – 2021, such as renewable energy consumption, access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, and access to electricity. For the indicators of access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, the results of panel data fixed effect regression as a best fit model are shown; these results are statistically significant (p < 0.01).
... Therefore, the realisation of sustainable development goals in its security dimension is consistent with the goals of ensuring the energy sustainability of any state [6][7][8][9][10], aim to maintain a sustainable environment in light of growing industrialisation [11]. The importance of this sustainable development goal is undeniable in terms of the energy deficit caused by different factors of energy insecurity [12,13], including the riskiest factors caused by world energy uncertainty, financial development, and technological advancement [14]. ...
The emergence of the concept of sustainable development of society has prompted the search for national approaches to its management. The application of energy potential by individual countries as a tool of political influence requires a review of the approaches to analyzing the state of affairs in the field of energy security and scientific justification of strategic scenarios for maintaining the trajectory of sustainable development. The goal of the article is the further development of the model for analyzing a specific area of management in the security dimension and the methods of strategizing the development of such an area – scientific and strategic foresight for the development of strategic scenarios for post-war recovery using the example of Ukraine's energy security. To achieve the research goal, the concept of sustainable development in the security dimension was used, which includes the methodology for identification and strategizing based on the new principle “the trajectory towards a future determines the future” through solving the inverse problem of decomposing integral indices using adaptive regulation methods from control theory. The methods of integral evaluation, stochastic methods for determining the boundaries of safe existence (applied systems theory, t-test methods, cluster analysis), determination of dynamic weighting coefficients using principal component methods and sliding matrices, decomposition of integral indices, and denormalization of indicators in natural units of measurement are also applied. A model of energy security has been developed, which includes seven components and 47 indicators, including shadow indicators. The analysis concept involves first studying each individual component within a unified whole, followed by analyzing energy security as a whole – an identification stage for the current level of security. Subsequently, the sustainable development trajectories are built towards the defined goals, and the whole is decomposed into components that ensure the achievement of the set goals – strategizing. The elements of scientific novelty in scientific and strategic foresighting technology are formulated, which operate in the following modes: structural evolution, projected structural transformation – rapid structural transformation, and balanced sustainable development. The mechanism for regulating the speed of structural restructuring through the regulation of constraints has been identified. Within these modes, models for the development of Ukraine's energy sector in the post-war period have been developed and studied: evolutionary development, green transition, and energy supply resilience for consumers.
Keywords: scientific and strategic foresight, indicators, thresholds, integral index, identification, strategizing, sustainable development, energy security
... The evidence so far points out that harnessing these resources can lead to improved energy security, economic growth, and public health outcomes. However, some researchers highlighted that the transition to renewable energy has some potential weaknesses especially the issue of funding [4]. ...
This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the current energy landscape and the imperative transition towards renewable energy. It begins with an overview of current energy sources and trends, highlighting the disparity between supply and increasing demand. Adverse impacts of reliance on fossil fuels such as environmental degradation, economic volatility, and health hazards underscore the urgent need for a transition. The study then explores the vast potential of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydrogen, and hydro, emphasizing their feasibility in the Southern African context. The positive impacts of integrating renewables are examined, including reduced greenhouse gas emissions, enhanced energy security, and economic diversification. Through case studies of regional examples, the success and failures of transitioning efforts are analyzed, providing valuable insights into best practices and pitfalls. The study identifies significant challenges in transitioning, particularly in grid-tied and off-grid scenarios, and discusses infrastructural, financial, and regulatory obstacles. The recommendations section outlines strategic steps for achieving a feasible transition, proposing either a full transition or specific percentages of renewable energy integration to meet energy demands. In conclusion, the study emphasizes the critical importance of adopting these strategies for sustainable development and global climate goals, advocating for continuous innovation and localized solutions to maximize the benefits of renewable energy. Key findings are that environmental and economic effects of fossil fuels usage strains economies by increasing fossil fuel subsidies. Renewable energy sources are abundant in the Southern African region, and some projects have already been successfully implemented, especially in South Africa. Economic growth and technological advancement are some of the benefits for fully transitioning to renewables, but lack of skilled labor, infrastructure, necessary technology and most importantly, high capital requirements, etc., are some challenges being faced. Hence, the need for regional cooperation, policy frameworks and infrastructure enhancement, and investment mobilization for an accelerated transition.
... Just like the AMG, the CCEMG technique is also efficient to CD as well as heterogeneity in slope. It also controls for endogeneity (Damette and Marques 2019), and can estimate the elasticities of the individual cross-sectional units (Murshed, Khan, and Rahman 2022). Related to the baseline model, the CCEMG specification of the study is expressed as; ...
The Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG‐13) enunciates the need to combat climate change by encouraging necessary actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and this laudable goal was re‐echoed at COP‐28 in the UAE. Although negatively impacted by climate change, the vast literature is silent on the Central Africa (CA) region. Thus, we empirically dissect the emission‐mitigating roles of green investment while integrating the moderating influences of ICT, foreign capitals (FDI), and non‐renewable energy intake, within the region's economic expansion and population growth. We observe that economic expansion has a non‐linear impact on emissions (an inverted U‐Shaped pattern); with initial emission‐inducing effects from non‐renewable energy, financial development, population, and foreign capitals while green investment and ICT mitigate regional emissions. Subsequent expansion in indicators (green investments, FDI, and ICT) significantly mitigates emissions except for non‐renewable energy intake. Green investments' interactive impacts with overall financial development trends also enhance regional environmental goals. Overall, the study posits that CA states can potentially mitigate environmental degradation by leveraging ICT and green investments towards the realization of SDG‐13.
... At the same time, nuanced natural resource management, highlighted by Brandt et al. (2017) and Oluc et al. (2023), is proving to be crucial in reducing environmental impacts and promoting sustainability. In the energy domain, a key facet of the index, the focus on efficiency, underscored by Ahmad and Zhang (2020) and Murshed et al. (2022), plays a critical role in guiding sustainable economic development and presumably mitigating environmental harms. In addition, in the transportation sector, efforts towards energy efficiency and the adoption of less polluting technologies, as described by Hasan et al. (2019) and Alotaibi et al. (2022), are in line with the trends identified in our findings. ...
This study examines the complex relation among environmental taxes, productive capacities, urbanization, and their collective effects on environmental quality in Africa, drawing on two decades of data from twenty African countries. It situates the study within the broader discourse on sustainable development and economic growth, emphasizing the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework to examine the relationship between economic development, characterized by urban expansion and increased productive capacities, and the adoption of environmental taxes amidst the continent’s diverse economic and environmental environments. Using advanced econometric techniques, including the Cross-Section Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) model and the Dynamic Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (DCCEMG) estimator, the study addresses data challenges such as cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity. The results provide important insights into the dynamics of environmental quality in relation to economic and urban growth and the role of environmental taxation. The study proposes tailored policy strategies aimed at strengthening sustainable development initiatives in line with international agreements such as the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. These strategies advocate for a nuanced application of environmental taxes and the promotion of productive capacities to enhance environmental sustainability across the African continent.
... S. Khan et al. [23] highlighted that fossil fuels are being consumed at an alarming rate, and energy from renewable sources is the best possible substitute. The link between renewable energy usage and long-term economic development in emerging and developing economies has been evaluated [24]. ...
The global economy faces increasing environmental challenges and economic instability, prompting the adoption of innovative energy technologies as a crucial strategy. This study addresses the urgent quest for sustainable development in South Africa, specifically by evaluating renewable energy solutions. This study utilizes a comprehensive literature analysis to examine the current state of renewable energy infrastructure, policy frameworks, technological advancements, and economic viability within the South African context. Synthesizing insights from the existing literature on the interplay between energy, economy, and technology, this study aims to provide a refined understanding of renewable energy solutions’ feasibility and integration potential. The exploration of these solutions in South Africa identifies key opportunities, challenges, and implications for sustainable development. These findings offer valuable guidance for policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders in advancing a country’s transition towards a sustainable energy future.
... Zhong et al. [70], who explore the impact of energy inequality on household carbon and energy footprint, find that reducing inequality in the use of energy is crucial for reducing the carbon footprint. In addition, a growing number of researchers have verified that energy sustainability contributes to carbon neutrality, and renewable energy use helps the environment change toward sustainable development [71][72][73][74][75]. ...
The carbon neutrality agenda requires that carbon lock-in enters an endgame. A well-developed energy system, which is secure, equitable, and sustainable is paramount to getting rid of carbon lock-in and realizing decarbonization. We carry out systematic research to empirically study the possible carbon lock-in reduction effect of energy trilemma based on the instrumental variable-generalized method of moment (IV-GMM) model. We also detect heterogeneous effects in terms of geographical locations and endowments of capital, as well as the impact mechanisms. Moreover, this paper highlights the mediating and threshold role of environmental regulation. We thus get the following conclusions. (1) The paper's primary findings underscore that the continuous increase of energy trilemma exacerbates carbon lock-in and hampers the process of decarbonization; (2) Energy trilemma has a higher stimulating effect on carbon lock-in in provinces that lie in the central region and that have a comparatively low level of physical, social, and human capital; (3) Energy trilemma can also indirectly aggravate carbon lock-in by inhibiting technology innovation and exacerbating carbon emissions intensity; (4) The interaction of environmental regulation and energy trilemma can alleviate the energy trilemma - carbon lock-in nexus, and environmental regulation also shows a significant threshold effect.
... An increase in electricity consumption potentially raises households' electricity-related carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions (Okuyama et al., 2022;Qiu et al., 2019). As such, how energy efficiency improvement can perform a mediating role in neutralizing the energy-sustainability-inhibiting effects of economic growth becomes a key factor (Murshed et al., 2022;Qudrat-Ullah and Nevo, 2021). On the other hand, a growing middle class with increased purchasing power also provides an opportunity for investing in renewable energy technologies such as residential solar photovoltaics (PV) systems (Akrofi et al., 2022). ...
The diffusion of renewable energy technology, such as solar home systems (SHS), has great potential to reduce GHG emissions. However, households’ energy efficiency (EE) and curtailment behavior (CB) play a crucial role in this process. This study examines the rooftop solar PV potential, households’ willingness to adopt SHS, and their EE/CB implications for mitigating CO2 emissions through SHS adoption. A survey of 216 households was carried out alongside rooftop solar PV potential analysis in a high-income gated estate and a middle-class neighborhood using secondary data. First, we find that rooftop solar PV has the potential to offset all grid electricity and its associated CO2 emissions for at least 63.5% of households. Secondly, the willingness to adopt SHS is lower in the high-income neighborhood than the middle-class ones. This dynamic is explained by the occupancy status, where most of those in the high-income neighborhood tend to be renters – a group known to have a low willingness to adopt SHS. Thirdly, our results affirm that energy-saving behavior is more common in a middle-class neighborhood where the propensity to adopt SHS is also high. Our results suggest that households willing to adopt SHS are more likely to engage in EE/CB. However, this tendency is common among middle-class households, who, in practice, may not be able to afford the SHS. Our findings underscore the need for more targeted policy interventions for SHS, and EE and CB among homeowners, high-income neighborhoods, and real estate developers.
... The Kenyan energy label works to influence consumers by providing them with information on the energy use of an appliance in kWh/year. Notwithstanding their benefits, Africa and largely sub-Saharan Africa is still experiencing a slow uptake of energy-efficient technologies [9,10]. Since implementing the Kenyan Standards and Labelling programme, EPRA has enforced compliance with the energy-star rating process [11]. ...
In Kenya, consumer choices regarding home energy appliances, such as refrigerators, are crucial for enhancing energy efficiency and environmental conservation efforts. This study examined the influence of the Kenya Energy Star Rating Label on consumer preferences for refrigerators. Using stratified random sampling, 330 respondents from five constituencies in Nairobi County, Kenya, were surveyed. The research employed a combination of conditional and mixed logit models to analyse the data. The results revealed a significant positive correlation (P = .05) between the Kenyan Energy Star Rating label and consumer preference for energy-efficient refrigerators across all models. Consumers demonstrated a willingness to pay an average premium of 28,708.5 Kenyan shillings for refrigerators displaying the Kenyan Energy Star Rating label, indicating their recognition of the label's value. There was no significant relationship between consumer environmental concern and their willingness to pay for energy labelled refrigerators. These findings have notable policy implications, emphasizing the importance of educating Kenyan consumers about the environmental advantages of energy-efficient appliances. Specifically, the results underscore the effectiveness of the Kenyan Energy Star Rating Label in guiding consumer choices toward more sustainable appliance options.
... As global dialogues on global warming and climate change intensify, energy efficiency is increasingly recognized as a pivotal element of sustainable development, prompting governments worldwide to incorporate it into their strategic planning [52][53][54]. Energy efficiency also plays a vital role in enhancing energy security and improving business competitiveness and the wellbeing of citizens [55,56]. Over time, as political and economic priorities have shifted, governments have emphasized different justifications for continuing to develop policies on energy efficiency. ...
The demand for energy remains a cornerstone of modern civilization, with the oil and gas industry critically meeting the global population’s daily requirements. As energy continues to drive economic growth, propel climate change mitigation, and underpin sustainable development, its management requires astute legal frameworks. This research delves into the legal structures of Nigeria and Bangladesh’s oil and gas sectors, aiming to discern their alignment and contributions towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7. Adopting a library-based doctrinal legal research approach, this paper intertwines conceptual legal insights with comparative analysis. Our findings underscore that, while both Bangladesh and Nigeria have undertaken commendable strides towards SDG 7, the current pace and scope remain inadequate for realizing holistic energy sustainability. It becomes imperative, therefore, for their regulatory landscapes to evolve, integrating policy reforms resonant with the SDGs. This paper emphasizes the indispensable role of robust legislative frameworks in nurturing and fortifying a nation’s sustainable energy infrastructure.
... The transparency in this paper was evaluated through the selection and application of all the indicators analyzed in more than 50 indexes developed by world bodies such as the World Energy Council, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum, which complement the obtainment of stakeholders and their engagement; provide verification with 320 simple and 52 complex indicators in energy security; contribute in new future studies synthesizing the criteria of quality, quantity, and context; andcontribute in the performance evaluation of policies that adopt metrics and suppress the obtainment of an index that can present if there are threats in the context of access to electricity in the analyzed area Achieving energy sustainability depends on the implementation of tools and applications that increase energy efficiency in the electricity system, and globalized financing can allow the improvement in environmental impact reduction rates. Murshed et al. [40] verified the increase in this economic aspect and its importance in sub-Saharan African countries, in which a 1 percent increase in energy efficiency rates within the entire context of the electricity system contributes to up to 11 percent in the improvement in sustainability indexes in the seven global sustainable development goals and promotes the improvement in internal development policies in reducing barriers to foreign investments with partnerships of local companies and state support by reducing taxes in these financing models by countries with a high income concentration that could benefit from social advertisements and the capture of natural resources with an adequate percentage to the benefited countries and external countries. ...
The concept of sustainability, with a focus on energy, has emerged as a central tenet in addressing the mounting global challenges of environmental degradation and resource depletion. Indicators of sustainability focusing on energy are crucial tools used to assess and monitor progress toward achieving a more sustainable energy system. These indicators provide valuable insights into the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of energy practices and their long-term impacts. By analyzing and understanding these indicators, policymakers, businesses, and communities can make informed decisions, formulate effective policies, and steer their efforts toward a more sustainable energy future. These indicators serve as navigational guides, steering the world toward energy practices that support both present needs and the well-being of future generations. In this paper, the concept of sustainability and measurement indexes used are reviewed, focusing on energy factors. The focus of the discussion presented here is related to an assessment of the possibilities for improving energy efficiency and evaluating the indicators that are used to measure whether the desired levels of sustainability are being achieved.
... Yuan et al. (2023) show that increasing energy efficiency reduces environmental deterioration and improves resource utilization, thus positively contributing to green economic growth in China. Murshed et al. (2022) found in their study that a 1% rise in energy efficiency level increases the energy sustainability index 1 for Sub-Saharan Africa by 11% in the long run. Chaturvedi and Shukla (2014) studied the role of energy efficiency in India's climate change mitigation and found that the final energy demand and emissions in India are significantly reduced with energy efficiency improvements. ...
The Energy Conservation Act (EC), 2001, provides a framework for promoting efficient use of energy and energy conservation in India. To strengthen government actions and policies, including the implementation of nationally determined contributions, clearly defined energy-efficient targets are pivotal. An economy-wide energy efficiency target would aid in planning and implementation. This policy brief reviews existing metrics and international practices. The brief advocates for a policy approach to set and achieve economy-wide energy efficiency targets that can drive action-oriented policies and motivate the government to attain predetermined outcomes.
... Third, we add to the emerging strand of literature on the impact of COVID-19 on various sectors of the economy (Topcu & Gulal, 2020;Zhang, Hu, & Ji, 2020;Ashraf, 2020;Ozili & Arun, 2020). Fourth, the findings of the paper can add to the growing literature on SDGs, in specific the papers related to energy sustainability such as Murshed and Tanha (2021) and Murshed, Khan, and Rahman (2022). ...
Purpose
Over the last decade, investments in green energy companies have witnessed noticeable growth rates. However, the glacial pace of the world economic restoration due to COVID-19 pandemic placed a high degree of uncertainty over this market. Therefore, this study investigates the short- and long-term relationships between COVID-19 new cases and WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index (NEX) using daily data over the period from January 23, 2020 to February 1, 2023.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors utilize an autoregressive distributed lag bounds testing estimation technique.
Findings
The results show a significant positive impact of COVID-19 new cases on the returns of NEX index in the short run, whereas it has a significant negative impact in the long run. It is also found that the S&P Global Clean Energy Index has a significant positive impact on the returns of NEX index. Although oil has an influential effect on stock returns, the results show insignificant impact.
Practical implications
Governments have the chance to flip this trend by including investment in green energy in their economic growth stimulation policies. Governments should highlight the fundamental advantages of investing in this type of energy such as creating job vacancies while reducing emissions and promoting innovation.
Originality/value
First, as far as the authors are aware, the authors are the first to examine the effect of oil prices on clean energy stocks during COVID-19. Second, the authors contribute to studies on the relationship between oil prices and renewable energy. Third, the authors add to the emerging strand of literature on the impact of COVID-19 on various sectors of the economy. Fourth, the findings of the paper can add to the growing literature on sustainable development goals, in specific the papers related to energy sustainability.
... SDG-7 promotes the use of renewable and resource efficient energy mixes (Murshed, 2021) while supporting the integration of new technologies (Murshed et al., 2020), locally or via trading (Murshed, 2019) -thus allowing for cleaner and affordable energy supply chains. Thus, a holistic approach is required, considering all aspects of a robust and sustainable energy system supporting the development of sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) (Murshed et al., 2022). However, this remains a challenging task as both economic and environmental constraints need to be optimized to guarantee SDGs (United Nations, 2019) are met across the wider global population. ...
... In keeping with the green economy and sustainable development concepts, reductions in energy consumption and energy efficiency have become global priorities (Sineviciene et al. 2017). Murshed et al. (2022) explained how energy efficiency positively impacts energy sustainability. Phylipsen et al. (2002) observed how the most energy-efficient companies can achieve energy savings of approximately 5% of their current consumption. ...
Energy prices play a crucial role in combating geopolitical risks, especially for the major suppliers of energy resources. However, energy prices display a bilateral relationship with geopolitical risks in any economy. Any hike in the price of energy stimulates geopolitical risk factors and visa-versa. The consequences adversely impact economies and bring forth international tensions. This paper bridges a gap between the influence of geopolitical risks relating to energy and international tensions by analyzing micro-level operational measures. We deploy an empirical model to predict the energy sector and possible risk factors incorporating Eurostat data on twenty-seven states, from 2011 to 2020. This study collected a different energy variable to support the multiple regression model constructed by the “blocks” (hierarchical linear regression) method. The results suggest that geopolitical risks cause adverse effects on both the energy and other corporate sectors. The future direction of this research is to estimate how statistical model relationships may assist the corporate sector, and investors, in adopting mitigating measures to control upcoming geopolitical risks due to energy risks caused by geopolitical unrest.
... Zhao et al. (2021) point out that energy poverty is related to inconvenient natural gas transportation pipelines and high price of renewable energy, which hinders the process of climate change mitigation. As for energy unsustainability, obviously low energy and low carbon efficiency deteriorate environmental quality and lead to massive CO 2 (Isiksal and Assi, 2022;Murshed et al., 2022). ...
Realizing carbon neutrality entails a well-established secure, equitable, and sustainable energy system; the trade-offs among the above three aspects constitute the energy trilemma (ET). To this end, by using the data of 30 provinces in China during the period 2000–2019, we examine the direct and heterogeneous impact of the ET on CO2. We also creatively investigate the role of dual environmental regulation (DER) in mitigating CO2, as well as its moderation and threshold effects on the ET-CO2 nexus. We thus present the following findings: (1) the ET exerts an aggravating impact on the phenomenon of CO2, and energy inequity shows the most prominent positive impact on CO2; (2) developing DER effectively accelerates the process of CO2 alleviation; (3) DER significantly moderates the nexus between the ET and CO2 by reducing the adverse effects of the ET on the environment, and formal environmental regulation (FER) plays a more effective role than informal environmental regulation (IER) in mitigating the positive ET-CO2 nexus; and (4) DER shows a significant threshold effect, and when the intensity of DER is high, the negative impact of the ET on CO2 can be alleviated to a large extent. Based on these findings, we propose several policy implications to accelerate the ET and eradicate CO2, and develop DER simultaneously.
... In the same amount of time, 10,000 local jobs can be produced in underserved areas [15]. These changes may have an impact on schooling as well: Access to education-related programs could assist up to 30 000 people in marginalized communities [35]. ...
The judicious use of energy in South Africa is a key to sustainable development however the rising demand of energy has started to affect the existing power generation plants. South Africa must move towards a more sustainable energy future, addressing the imminent energy crisis in the country, also to mitigate issues of carbon dioxide emissions and climate change by providing clean energy to the society. Unfortunately, South Africa is lagging in the adoption of new energy technologies. Population growth versus energy use has become a problem and the societies have started to overwhelm the existing energy sources resulting in lack of energy hence poor sustainable development. This paper chronicles renewable energy technologies in South Africa and investigates the barriers to the implementation. The article will provide a detailed analysis of the existing energy sector in South Africa and a forecast for demand growth in other renewable energy technologies. An extensive review is presented which addresses current energy use and feasibility of new energy technologies. A review of some articles was also used to find the links between local economic development and employment creation through renewable energy resources provision.
... In oil-abundant economies, oil rents may generate the technique effect, if oil rents could invest in producing energy-efficient and clean energy technologies. Consequently, energy efficiency could help in the promotion of environmental sustainability (Alam M. S. et al., 2022a;Murshed et al., 2022a;Khan et al., 2022). Moreover, oil rents may also be utilized for economic diversification from the oil sector, which may generate a composition effect. ...
Oil rents significantly contribute to income in OPEC member economies and could have environmental consequences. The present study explores the asymmetrical effects of oil rents on CO2 emissions in 13 current OPEC economies using a period 1970–2019, and also tests the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis. Long-run results show that economic growth has a positive effect, and its square term has a negative effect on CO2 emissions in Algeria, Congo, Gabon, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, which validate the EKC in these countries. However, a U-shaped effect of income growth on emissions is substantiated in Angola. Moreover, rising oil rents have positive effects on CO2 emissions in Saudi Arabia, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Libya, and have negative impacts in Algeria, Nigeria, and the UAE. Decreasing oil rents reduce CO2 emissions in Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, and Saudi Arabia, and increase emissions in Algeria. Moreover, asymmetrical effects of oil rents on emissions are found in Angola, Congo, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The short-run results show that the EKC is validated in Algeria, Congo, and Libya. However, economic growth shows a monotonic positive impact on emissions in Nigeria, the UAE, and Venezuela. Increasing oil rents show a positive impact on emissions in Angola, Congo, Iran, and Kuwait and carry a negative impact in Algeria and the UAE. In addition, decreasing oil rents increase CO2 emissions in Algeria, Gabon, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. We recommend Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, and Saudi Arabia to adopt tight environmental policies in times of increasing oil rents to avoid the negative environmental consequences of oil rents.
... In the extant literature, a variety of factors like economic growth Murshed et al., 2022b;Nurgazina et al., 2022), energy efficiency (Murshed et al., 2022a), energy consumption (Cheng and Yao, 2021;Li et al., 2021), renewable energy consumption (Murshed et al., , 2022cTahiri et al., 2021;Adebayo et al., 2022a;Miao et al., 2022), and trade openness (Su et al., 2021;Adebayo, 2022a) have been examined in terms of their relationship with the CO 2 emissions. According to these studies in the current literature, such factors have a significant impact on CO 2 emissions that is a proxy for environmental degradation. ...
The study investigates the asymmetric and long-run impact of political stability on consumption-based carbon dioxide (CCO2) emissions in Finland. In this context, the study examines the impact of political stability, economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and trade openness; includes quarterly data between 1990/Q1 and 2019/Q4, and applies nonlinear and Fourier-based approaches. The empirical outcomes reveal that (i) there is a long-run cointegration between CCO2 emissions and political stability as well as other controlling variables; (ii) positive changes in political stability have statistically significant impacts on CCO2 emissions, whereas negative shocks in political stability are not statistically significant. Also, positive shocks are more powerful than negative shocks; (iii) positive shocks in economic growth have significantly increasing impacts; (iv) positive and negative shocks in renewable energy have decreasing impacts on CCO2 emissions, while positive shocks are more powerful; (v) positive (negative) shocks in trade openness have decreasing (increasing) impacts on CCO2 emissions. Overall, the empirical results highlight the role of political stability on CCO2 emissions. Thus, consideration of political stability by policymakers of Finland in the policy development and implementation processes is highly recommended to achieve a carbon-neutrality target by 2035.
... In addition to the first three models, we consider another model in which we construct an unweighted energy poverty index by using the principal component analysis technique. Several preceding studies have utilized this principal component analysis method in predicting indices [36]. The value of the index is assigned a range from 0 (highest degree of energy poverty) to 100 (lowest degree of energy poverty). ...
This study aims to explore the macroeconomic determinants of multidimensional energy poverty in China over the 2005Q1-2019Q4 period. Three composite energy poverty indices are constructed to measure the incidence of energy poverty in China using different weight sets on relevant energy indicators that capture the accessibility, availability, and affordability dimensions of energy poverty. The overall results indicate that a 1% rise in the degrees of fiscal decentralization and country risks aggravates the energy poverty situation in the long run by reducing the energy poverty indices by 0.035% and 0.010%, respectively. In contrast, positive shocks to the levels of economic growth, renewable energy share, and technological innovation by 1% are evidenced to be associated with declines in the energy poverty indices in the long run by 0.580%, 0.111%, and 0.040%, respectively. Besides, the marginal impacts of these variables are seen to be comparatively larger for the composite energy poverty indices that emphasize more on the accessibility dimension of energy poverty in China. Based on these findings, greening the fiscal decentralization policies, lowering country risks, promoting economic growth, stimulating higher renewable energy use, financing technological innovation are recommended for mitigating the incidence of energy poverty in China.
... This variable is used as a proxy for renewable energy use. Besides, it can also be considered as an indicator of the fossil fuel dependency within the power sector since a rise in this share is synonymous with a drop in the share of fossil fuel-based electricity output [70]. Due to greater use of renewable energy and lower consumption of fossil fuels being related to lower emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere, the sign of the corresponding predicted elasticity parameter can be hypothesized to be negative ði:e:; b 2 < 0). ...
The economies and population sizes of the Next Eleven countries are anticipated to surge in the next couple of decades whereby their energy demands can be assumed to rise in tandem. However, meeting the rising energy demand with the traditionally-consumed unclean energy resources can impose adverse environmental consequences. As a result, achieving environmental sustainability has become an utmost important issue for these countries. Against this backdrop, this study examines whether improving energy efficiency, enhancing renewable electricity production, and promoting financial inclusivity can help the Next Eleven countries reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Overall, the findings reveal that energy efficiency improvement and greater renewable electricity shares in total electricity outputs mitigate carbon dioxide emissions in the long run. Contrarily, financial inclusion, economic growth, and international trade are observed to boost carbon dioxide emissions. Moreover, energy efficiency and financial inclusion are found to jointly impede emissions whereby the mediating and moderating effects of energy efficiency on the financial inclusion-carbon dioxide emissions nexus are verified. Furthermore, these findings are robust across alternate estimation techniques and also when total greenhouse gas emissions are considered as an alternative proxy for measuring environmental well-being. Accordingly, several relevant environmental sustainability-related policies are recommended to the concerned governments.
This research paper delves into the captivating realm of sustainable development, specifically focusing on assessing the degree of implementation of sustainable development goal 7 (SDG7) and its intricate relationship with social, economic and ecological factors within European Union (EU) countries. By comprehensively unravelling the interplay between SDG7 and these multifaceted factors, this study provides invaluable insights into the ongoing sustainable energy revolution within the EU. To verify the research hypotheses, composite indicators (CI) were estimated for SDG7 and selected groups of indicators, employing a methodology grounded in sensitivity analysis. Our findings notably highlight the distinct significance of ecological factors in driving the development of clean energy systems. In contrast, the data did not support our hypothesis, which posited a significant relationship between economic factors and the implementation of SDG7. This evolving perspective underscores the growing recognition of the fundamental role that ecological factors play in shaping our sustainable energy future. Consequently, as we prioritise preserving and conserving our environment, the need to balance economic prosperity with environmental well‐being becomes increasingly evident.
One of Africa's biggest problems, which has an impact on its social and economic growth, is its lack of access to electricity. Due to its reliance on coal, South Africa (SA) has been acknowledged as one of the nations in Sub-Saharan Africa that has had difficulty developing its energy infrastructure. South Africa is the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) in Africa due to its dependence on coal. The nation has been forced to switch to cleaner energy technologies like solar energy, wind energy, biomass energy, and hydropower. However, as South Africa made the move from an energy based on fossil fuels to renewable energy technology (RET), it encountered both obstacles and opportunities. The review will examined the difficulties that South Africa faces, including governmental regulations, budgetary restrictions, technological issues, lack of awareness, and cultural issues. Furthermore, some of the enormous prospects for RET that exist in the nation, including solar, wind, and biomass, was also discussed.
Carbon emissions from anthropogenic human activities are viewed as the major cause of pollution in the environment. The Paris Treaty came into effect to help minimize the galloping rate of global ecological pollution. The surge in global emissions has prompted other nations to change their environmental regulations to help them to attain their emission mitigation agenda. For instance, China, United States and India have improved their Nationally Determined Contributions they pledged as signatories to the Paris Accord to help them to achieve their sustainable development goals But, despite nations committing to the guidelines of this accord, ecological contamination continues to rise in the globe. To help curb the above menace, a study on the connection between financial development, urbanization, economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and environmental quality of 27 countries from North, South and East Africa over the period 1990 to 2019 was conducted. In attaining this goal, econometric techniques that are robust to heterogeneity and residual cross-sectional dependence were deemed appropriate. From the preliminary analysis, the panel was heterogeneous and cross-sectionally dependent. Also, all the series were stationary after first difference and cointegrated in the long-run. On the regression estimates via the common correlated effects mean group technique, financial development improved environmental quality in the North, South and Eastern regions by 0.56%, 0.42%, and 0.44% respectively. Also, renewable energy promoted ecological safety in the Northern and Eastern regions by 0.24% and 0.08% respectively, but degraded environmental sustainability in the Southern region by 0.66%. Besides, economic growth deteriorated the environment in the North by 0.66%, South by 0.41%, and East by 0.25%. However, urbanization enhanced ecological safety in the East by 0.63%, but had immaterial effect on environmental quality in the North and Southern regions of Africa. Some of the aforestated results are consistent to those under the dynamic common correlated effects mean group (DCCEMG) technique as an alternative estimator. Policy recommendations to help advance the carbon-neutrality target of the regions were proposed.
The rising importance of sustainability and accountability in organizations has prompted the exploration of innovative approaches to enhance environmental performance and energy efficiency (ENE). The purpose of this research is to examine the extent to which environmental management accounting (EMA) and ENE practices contribute to accountability within state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in Bangladesh. This study employs both symmetrical (PLS-SEM) and asymmetrical (fsQCA) approaches. The study verifies internal consistency, reliability, validity, common method bias, and collinearity issues through measurement model analysis and conducts path analysis after testing model fitness in structural model analysis. Finally, the study uses fsQCA to conduct in-depth analyses of causal contributions from different conditions to a specific outcome of interest. The PLS-SEM analysis revealed significant positive relationships between EMA and ENE with transparency, responsibility, and answerability. These results indicate that organizations adopting EMA and ENE practices are more likely to exhibit higher levels of transparency, demonstrate greater responsibility towards environmental matters, and be more answerable to stakeholders for their accountability. Further, the study identified ENE as a mediator of EMA and accountability. Finally, the fsQCA analysis supported the importance of both EMA and ENE as necessary conditions for achieving accountability indicating the integration of EMA and ENE to foster transparency, responsibility, and answerability effectively. This study implies that by implementing EMA systems and focusing on energy-efficient operations, organizations can enhance transparency, responsibility, and answerability to stakeholders, fostering a positive image and reputation. Therefore, SOEs may consider integrating these practices into their overall sustainability strategies to maximize their impact on accountability and environmental performance.
The availability of energy resources greatly impacts achieving energy security and a steady economic growth rate. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are highly dependent on fossil fuels for energy generation. Hence, there is a need to divert focus to renewable energy resources such as biogas production. SSA has experienced very slow growth in the production of biogas, despite having access to land and feedstock. This paper outlines the guidelines and strategy for implementing sustainable biogas technology. Key barriers and business drivers were identified, and the outcome gives insights regarding the factors that are similar to those identified in other studies from developing nations with comparable socioeconomic status. Three major techniques for technology roadmap analysis were used, which include SWOT and P5F analysis, and these are discussed in the context of bringing biogas technology to the SSA market. The proposed technology roadmap for biogas production technology was developed while taking into consideration four components, which are business drivers, product features, technology features, and resources. It can be concluded that an appropriate focus on issues pertaining to policy and financial framework is vital for efficient biogas technology implementation. Recommendations were made for advancing biogas technology in SSA to maintain a competitive advantage.
The paper addresses a critical environmental and economic issue by analyzing the relationship between resource rents (specifically oil and gas rents) and environmental sustainability using a case of China with a special focus on the impact of geopolitical risks. Utilizing advanced quantile regression (QR) techniques and time-series data from 1988 to 2021, the paper investigates how natural resource extraction influences carbon emissions and provides valuable insights into policymaking for sustainable development
The global energy transition is very resource intense, and scholarship is rapidly increasing to show its impacts in various resource extraction frontiers in the global South. These emerging studies are clarifying the social and environmental impacts of extracting particular energy transition resources (ETRs). However, there is still limited attention on the cumulative socioenvironmental impacts of extracting multiple ETRs from the same region. This paper proposes to mix geospatial and qualitative research methods to examine the cumulative socioenvironmental impacts of ETR extraction. We apply these mixed methods to study the impacts of an expanding frontier of graphite and natural gas extraction in Mozambique. The geospatial results show that patterns in socioenvironmental changes, including a surge in built-up and bare areas and water-covered surfaces, and a shrinkage of vegetated areas - some of which are ecologically sensitive, are starting to emerge in the project areas. In combination with qualitative methods, we identified additional impacts including an increase in solid waste and air and noise pollution, and an inception of extractivism-associated conflict in certain project areas. When single commodities are analyzed, using single methods, some of these impacts may be overlooked or underestimated. In order to fully understand the sustainability implications of the energy transition process, it is instrumental to combine geospatial and qualitative research methods to monitor the cumulative socioenvironmental impacts at its upstream end.
Since renewable energy is essentially non-carbohydrate in nature, it can generate little or no pollutants and can therefore help in achieving both sustainable development and environmental quality. In this regard, the question that continues to persist is whether economic growth, economic globalization, and political risk can potentially affect renewable energy in the presence of environmental deterioration. In this context, the current research provides evidence to support this theoretical context by investigating the impact of economic globalization, economic growth environmental degradation, and political risk, on the usage of renewable energy in Vietnam using a dataset spanning the period between 1984 and 2019. For empirical analysis, the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag approach is utilized. Based on our analysis, economic growth positively impacts renewable energy in the long and short term. Economic globalization also positively affects renewable energy in the long term, but a neutral impact is uncovered in the short term. Political risk and environmental degradation are adversely related to renewable energy in the short and long run. The findings from the frequency domain approach reveal a causal interaction from political risk to renewable energy, and from renewable energy to economic globalization, whereas a feedback causal interaction is discovered between renewable energy and environment degradation, as well as between economic growth and renewable energy. From a policy standpoint, we propose that the Vietnamese policymakers need to consider economic globalization as a renewable energy promotion tool via capital inflow, foreign direct investment, and technological transfer.
The growing threats of climate change are posing severe economic and social development challenges to African economies. As a result, emission reduction path that stabilizes carbon concentrations while minimizing the risk of damage from rising climate threats has become critical. The key is to improve carbon productivity. In this regard, the study shed light on the direction and magnitude of clean energy development finance (CEDF) and financial agglomeration (FA) impact on dynamic total carbon productivity index (DTCPI). Based on panel data of 35 economies in Africa from 2005 to 2017, we employ level of development and fossil fuel intensity as threshold variables to explore the relationship between CEDF and DTCPI using panel threshold technique. Similarly, we examined FA and DTCPI nexus under level of development. The DTCPI was estimated using Parametric Malmquist Index technique. The findings indicate that, on average, DTCPI progressed over the sample period and technical efficiency is the central factor behind the improvement. Besides, a threshold effect exists between FA, CEDF, and DTCPI. Particularly, the negative effect of CEDF on carbon productivity increases at a certain level and subsequently reduces as economic development advances. Also, CEDF exhibits a significant and greater decline on carbon productivity only at high fossil intensity levels. The negative effect of FA on DTCPI contracts as economic growth increases and remains high in low income levels. The study encourages governments to scale up clean investment initiatives, guide the formation of agglomerations, and enhance innovation while pursuing sustainable growth.
The rapid development of information and communication technologies has brought the concept of digital economy into the limelight. Data elements have played a more important role in economic production. As an environmentally friendly economic model, the data factor-driven economy, compared to the traditional one, has low energy consumption and less pollution emissions. Hence, the effect of digital economy development on ecological performance is worth exploring. We measured the digital economy index and the ecological performance index for 30 provinces in China. Furthermore, the relationship between the two was analyzed with the help of a dynamic spatial Durbin model. The results showed the following: 1) closely related to the regional economic foundation, the development level of the digital economy showed obvious spatial characteristics that were high in the eastern region and low in the western region in China. 2) Over time, the pattern of ecological performance in China has changed markedly, showing a high level in the south and a low level in the north. 3) The digital economy showed a significant promoting effect on ecological performance, with a strong externality in space that could have a spillover effect on the surrounding areas. 4) The effect of the digital economy on ecological performance had a significant positive effect, although it lagged behind over time. In addition, the effect has regional heterogeneity and was more obvious in developed regions. Based on these findings, we recommend that the role of ICT in economic activity be strengthened in some developed regions. However, in some developing regions, a balance needs to be struck between digitalization and environmental benefits. At the same time, developed regions should be encouraged to realize economic collaboration with developing regions, with the help of data elements in an effort to narrow the regional gap.
Quality institutions augment economic sustainability by ensuring domestic resource optimization with equitable development principles. Therefore, ensuring this equitable development and quality institutions is required. This study assessed the effects of government debt, uncertainty of economic policies, and government spending on institutional quality, as measured by governmental effectiveness in BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) nations from1990–2020. This study applied several econometrical techniques for empirical nexus assessment, including Augmented ARDL, nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed Lagged (ARDL), and Fourier Toda-Yamamoto causality tests. This study documented long-run cointegration in both symmetry and asymmetric assessments. In the long run, both government debt and uncertain economic policies were significantly negatively associated with institutional quality, while government spending and institutional quality were positively associated. Furthermore, the results of asymmetric ARDL revealed both long- and short-run asymmetric relationships between institutional quality and government debt, EPU, and government spending. The directional causality test documented bidirectional causality between debt and institutional quality in all nations, whereas mixed causalities were detected for uncertain economic policy, institutional quality, and government spending. Regarding policy, the results of this study suggested that economic stability was indispensable for efficient institutional quality in BRIC nations.
The current era of industrial development and innovation is revolutionized using the internet, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Nevertheless, the appraisal of global economic progress shows increasing trends, there are environmental degradation issues associated with this improvement. The role of renewable energy, urbanization and foreign direct investment received a lot of attention in the literature on environmental issues, however, the simultaneity with information communication technology is missing. Therefore, the present study used data from 10 emerging countries during 1996–2015 and applied the novel Method of Moments Quantile Regression to analyze the nexus among the variables. Further, we applied the second-generation unit root test, and Driscoll Kraay standard errors to reach robust results. The findings revealed an inverted U-shape relationship between economic growth and environmental degradation; thus, the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve is revealed. Moreover, foreign direct investment is significant and positive at 0.05th-0.50th quantiles, however, it becomes insignificant at higher quantile levels. Urbanization enhances while renewable energy mitigates carbon dioxide emissions at all quantile levels. Information communication technology proxied by internet usage reduces environmental degradation significantly at 0.25th-0.95th quantile levels. Results of the study suggest insights for the policymakers to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions through encouraging renewable energy and internet use.
Although energy supply is not the only factor of the production function, it remains an important driver for any economy despite its negative environmental impacts. This paper examines the determinants of carbon dioxide emissions in a sample of 35 African countries from 1980 to 2016. It uses several econometric methods to ensure robust and reliable findings. Results from Mean group (MG) and Dynamic common correlated effects mean group (DCCEMG) models prove that the environmental degradation in the selected sample is caused mostly by economic growth and non-renewable energy consumption. Moreover, the results confirm that the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis is not significant when consider cross sectional dependence. These finding are contradictive to those obtained from similar studies that used traditional panel estimators. This means that energy consumption and economic growth will continue to increase emissions in the future. Furthermore, the study provides evidence of bidirectional causal relationships between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth, non-renewable energy consumption and economic growth and between non-renewable energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions. These findings imply that a hard work must to be done by the African policymakers and a long corrective measure series have to be adopted to ensure more efficient and clean energy.
Household transitions to cleaner cooking fuels (for example, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)) have historically been studied from a demand perspective, with clean energy usage expected to increase with improvements in household socio-economic status. Although recent studies demonstrate the importance of supply-side determinants in increasing clean cooking, few large-scale studies have assessed their importance quantitatively, relative to demand-related factors. Here, as part of the CLEAN-Air(Africa) study, we examine a population-based survey ( n = 5,638) of cooking practices in peri-urban communities within Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana. Multilevel logistic and log-linear regression assessed the demand and supply-side determinants of LPG usage (primary versus secondary fuel) and consumption (kilograms per capita per year), respectively. Supply-side factors (for example, cylinder refill and transportation costs) and the use of single versus multiburner stoves were better predictors than household socio-economic status for both the probability of primarily cooking with LPG and the annual LPG consumption. These results highlight the need for policies that promote LPG supply and stove equipment to meet household needs.
Energy poverty is defined as insufficient access to modern energy resources which are relatively cleaner than the traditionally utilized ones. In this regard, the incidence of energy poverty is particularly higher in the cases of the developing countries across the globe. Accordingly, the chronic energy poverty issues in the developing countries within Sub-Saharan Africa have become a major socioeconomic and environmental concern for the associated governments. Hence, this study aims to evaluate the effects of energy efficiency gains and shocks to other key macroeconomic factors on energy poverty in the context of selected Sub-Saharan African nations. In this study, we measure energy poverty in terms of the lack of access to clean cooking fuels and technologies for the population of the selected Sub-Saharan African countries. The overall findings from the common correlated effects panel regression analysis reveal that energy efficiency gains initially aggravate the energy poverty situation but improve it later on; consequently, a U-shaped relationship between energy efficiency and access to clean cooking fuels and technologies is evidenced. Besides, the predicted threshold levels of energy efficiency are observed to be higher than the average energy efficiency level of the Sub-Saharan African nations. Moreover, the results also portray that economic growth, carbon dioxide emissions, foreign direct investment inflows, and international trade are effective in reducing energy poverty. Conversely, financial development is witnessed to be ineffective in influencing the incidence of energy poverty in this region.
The study aims to compare CO 2 emissions, renewable energy, trade openness, gross domestic product (GDP), financial development (FD), and remittance in selected G-20 countries. The study carried out fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) models for estimation covering annual data from the year 1990–2019. LM tests detected the cross-section dependency while stationarity of the variables was checked through Levin-Lin-Chu and Im-Pesaran-Shin tests along with Hansen's Covariate-Augmented Dickey Fuller (CADF) test in the presence of cross-section dependency. The panel unit root tests reported that all variables became stationary after converting them into the first difference. The Panel Cointegration and Wester-Lund test examined the existence of long-run equilibrium nexus among selected variables in the context of G-20 countries. The study's findings show that there is a significant and negative relationship between renewable energy and CO 2 emissions. It was proven in two models that the economic growth of selected G-20 countries has a positive relationship with CO 2 emissions. Furthermore, findings indicate that the coefficient of financial development is positive and significantly impacts CO 2 emissions. The remittances have a significant positive effect on CO 2 emissions, while trade openness has an insignificant impact on CO 2 emissions in both models. This research will enlighten policymakers, researchers, governments, and environmentalists toward attaining a sustainable environment by wisely consuming remittances and renewable energy resources.
Access to clean energy is necessary for environmental cleanliness and poverty reduction. That notwithstanding, many in developing countries especially those in sub-Saharan Africa region lack clean energy for their routine domestic activities. This study sought to unravel the factors that influence clean energy accessibility in sub-Saharan Africa region. Clean energy accessibility, specifically access to electricity, and access to clean cooking fuels and technologies, were modeled as a function of income, foreign direct investment, inflation, employment and political regime for a panel of 31 sub-Saharan countries for the period 2000–2015. Regression analysis from fixed effect, random effect and Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares show that access to clean energy is influenced positively by income, foreign direct investment, political regime and employment while inflation has some negative effect on its accessibility. The policy implications from the findings among other things include that expansion in GDP per capita in the sub-region shall be helpful in increasing accessibility to clean energy. Moreover, strengthening the democratic institutions of countries in the region shall enhance the citizens' accessibility to clean energy. Ensuring sustainable jobs for the citizens is necessary for access clean energy.
A revolution in the energy sector is crucial for achieving environmental sustainability since almost three-fourth of global carbon dioxide emissions is generated from the energy sector. It is believed that combustion of unclean energy resources is the major contributor to the multifaceted environmental adversities experienced across the globe. Thus, the development of clean energy technologies, to elevate their shares in the global energy mix, is deemed necessary to reinstate environmental well-being worldwide. Against this background, this study aims to explore the symmetric and asymmetric impacts of public research and development investments for nuclear and renewable energy development and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions in the context of Japan over the 1974–2017 period. As opposed to the conventional approaches, this study contributes to the literature by specifically scrutinizing the environmental effects associated with public investments in clean energy development projects; whereas the majority of the preceding studies have either considered the environmental impacts associated with the overall research and development investments in the energy sector or that made by firms in general. However, evaluating the effects of such investments for clean energy development is more appropriate for policy-making purposes. The results from both the symmetric and asymmetric analyses reveal that higher public investments in clean energy research and development-oriented projects help to curb carbon dioxide emissions in Japan. Besides, such investments for nuclear energy development are evidenced to be relatively more effective in facilitating the nation's carbon emission-abating agenda. In contrast, economic growth in Japan is evidenced to trigger higher carbon dioxide emissions. In line with these key findings, this study offers several policy-level suggestions in respect of undergoing clean energy transition and achieving environmental sustainability in Japan.
Achieving universal electricity access in sub-Saharan Africa – a milestone of SDG 7 – requires about $30bn annually until 2030 on the top of baseline investment. The private sector plays a key role in supplying these investment flows, given the governmental budgetary constraints. Yet, private players face numerous sources of risk in their infrastructure investment decisions. This risk is usually factored in using a discount rate. To allow for a more realistic evaluation of the role of the investment environment in financing energy access, here we introduce the Electricity Access Governance Index (EAGI), a composite index of energy sector regulatory quality, energy sector governance, and market risk. The index is implemented through a discount rate conversion into a bottom-up integrated electricity planning model (IMAGE-TIMER) to evaluate the role of different sources of risk for electrification investment dynamics. Our results show that the adoption of decentralised systems for achieving universal energy access requires governance and institutional reform to lower discount rates faced by companies and households and mobilise private finance. Failure to reform investment environments will likely hamper the uptake of decentralised systems even in areas where they would be the techno-economically least-cost electrification option, and thus likely leave many without electricity.
Liquidity constraints are a key barrier to acquisition and sustained use of clean household energy in resource-poor settings. This study evaluates a pilot microfinance initiative in Kenya to help low-income rural households access liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for cooking. Program beneficiaries received a six-month loan that covered all equipment costs and was to be repaid in monthly installments. We present results from surveys of beneficiaries (n = 69) after they began using LPG, as well as 332 non-beneficiaries from the same community (to understand how beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries differ in cooking patterns and socioeconomic outcomes). 94% of beneficiaries had repaid their loan in full and on time at the time of data collection. Meanwhile, beneficiaries were more likely than non-beneficiaries to use LPG as their primary cooking fuel (76.8% of beneficiaries versus 38.8% of non-beneficiaries). While 81.1% of beneficiaries who used LPG as their primary cooking fuel reported multiple fuel use, we find beneficiaries increased LPG use by 5.9 h per week with a corresponding decrease of 4.8 h in weekly use of biomass fuel. Our findings suggest that promoting LPG usage through microloans for equipment is likely to be both commercially viable and beneficial to health through decreased use of polluting biomass fuel.
In most Sub Saharan African countries renewable energy has been part of the energy mix balance-sheet for quite a long time. However, the share of total primary energy from renewable sources have declined over time despite significant investment into the sector in the last decade. This paper pierce the veil of the energy sector to unearth the underlying factors driving renewable energy output in the region using a panel data of 32 SSA countries from 1990 to 2015. Using a novel estimator (Regression with Driscoll-Kraay standard errors) that is robust to serial correlation and cross-sectional dependence. Findings from the study point to the underlying factors of renewable energy in Co2 emissions per capita, income per capita, oil prices, trade openness, natural resource rents, urbanization, population growth rate, and climatic stress. The study proposes policies that incorporates environmental awareness in the national development plans of countries; increasing renewable energy consumption among the middle class; encourage regional renewable energy grid sharing; implementing and expanding the feed-in-tariff system; and granting tax incentives to companies that seek to invest and develop the renewable energy sector in the region.
Long-lasting democratic institutions have been found to matter for the universal provision of reliable electricity. In this article we revisit this finding, suggesting that the effect of democracy on electricity provision is moderated by the quality of institutions shaping the implementation of public policies. We test the hypothesis positing the interaction effect between democracy and corruption using cross-national data on the share of population living in unlit areas. The results show that democracy is associated with a higher electrification rate only in low-corrupt contexts. When corruption is widespread, democratic experience is not correlated with higher rates of electrification. These findings suggest that the effect of democratic institutions is conditional on the quality of the institutions that shape policy implementation.
In this contemporary era, environmental problems spread at different levels in all countries of the world. Economic growth does not just depend on prioritizing the environment or improving the environmental situation. If the foreign direct investment is directed to the polluting industries, they will increase pollution and damage the environment. The purpose of the study is to consider the relationship between foreign direct investment in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and economic growth and renewable energy consumption. The study is based on data obtained from 1992 to 2018. The results show that there is a two-way link between foreign direct investment and renewable energy consumption in the considered two countries. The Granger causality test approach is applied to explore the causal relationship between the variables. The Johansen co-integration test approach is also employed to test for a relationship. The empirical results verify the existence of co-integration between the series. The main factors influencing renewable energy are economic growth and electricity consumption. To reduce dependence on fuel-based energy sources, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan need to attract energy to renewable energy sources and implement energy efficiency based on rapid progress. This is because renewable energy sources play the role of an engine that stimulates the production process in the economy for all countries.
The transition toward clean energy is an issue of great importance with growing debate in climate change mitigation. The complex nature of nuclear energy-CO 2 emissions nexus makes it difficult to predict whether or not nuclear acts as a clean energy source. Hence, we examined the relationship between nuclear energy consumption and CO 2 emissions in the context of the IPAT and Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) framework. Dynamic Auto-regressive Distributive Lag (DARDL), a newly modified econometric tool, is employed for estimation of long-and short-run dynamics by using yearly data spanning from 1971 to 2018. The empirical findings of the study revealed an instantaneous increase in nuclear energy reduces environmental pollution, which highlights that more nuclear energy power in the Indian energy system would be beneficial for climate change mitigation. The results further demonstrate that the overarching effect of population density in the IPAT equation stimulates carbon emissions. Finally, nuclear energy and population density contribute to form the EKC curve. To achieving a cleaner environment, results point out governmental policies toward the transition of nuclear energy that favours environmental sustainability.
Our study investigates the determinants of renewable energy consumption in Sub-Sahara Africa. We explore the
driving factors of renewable energy consumption in the context of carbon intensity for 32 Sub-Saharan African
countries from 1990 to 2015. Using carbon emission intensity to identify group-specific heterogeneity, we recognize
carbon-efficient and least carbon-efficient countries in the region. By relying on the corrected least squares
dummy variable estimator (LSDVC), we provide evidence on the driving factors of renewable energy consumption
in Sub-Saharan Africa. Consequently, the findings point to varying degrees of impact on renewable energy
consumption in the region. For instance,weobserve advancement in technology, quality of governance, economic
progress, biomass consumption, and climatic conditions influence renewable energy consumption. With a common
occurrence across all groups, the implications indicate environmental, socio-economic, and climatic factors
playing an important role in renewable energy consumption. The study further shows that urbanization and economic
globalization depress efforts towards renewable energy consumption. Apart from these common factors,
other controlling variables including; GDP per capita, environmental awareness, and biomass affect each group
differently. We conclude that, policy implications can be drawn from common factors towards harmonization
of clean energy markets and developing a policy mix that combines environmental, economic, and social factors
in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our study investigates the determinants of renewable energy consumption in Sub-Saharan Africa. We explore the driving factors of renewable energy consumption in the context of carbon intensity for 32 Sub-Saharan African countries from 1990 to 2015. Using carbon emission intensity to identify group-specific heterogeneity, we recognize carbon-efficient and least carbon-efficient countries in the region. By relying on a novel estimator; the corrected least squares dummy variable estimator (LSDVC), we provide evidence of the driving factors behind renewable energy consumption in the region. Consequently, our findings point to varying degrees of impact on renewable energy consumption in the region. Particularly, we observe a positive impact of technology, quality of governance, economic progress, biomass consumption, and climatic impacts on renewable energy consumption in the region. This is common across all groups. Implying that both environmental, socioeconomic, and climatic factors play an important role in renewable energy consumption in the region. Our study further shows that urbanization and economic globalization depress efforts towards renewable energy consumption in the region. Apart from these common factors, other controlling variables such as; GDP per capita, environmental awareness, and biomass affect each group differently. To emphasize, policy implications can be drawn from common factors towards harmonization of clean energy markets and developing a policy mix that combines environmental, economic, and social factors in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.
Household air pollution (HAP) caused by the combustion of solid fuels for cooking and heating is responsible for almost 5% of the global burden of disease. In response, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has recommended the urgent need to scale the adoption of clean fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). To understand the drivers of the adoption and exclusive use of LPG for cooking, we analysed representative survey data from 3343 peri-urban and rural households in Southwest Cameroon. Surveys used standardised tools to collect information on fuel use, socio-demographic and household characteristics and use of LPG for clean cooking. Most households reported LPG to be clean (95%) and efficient (88%), but many also perceived it to be expensive (69%) and unsafe (64%). Positive perceptions about LPG’s safety (OR = 2.49, 95% CI = 2.04, 3.05), cooking speed (OR = 4.31, 95% CI = 2.62, 7.10), affordability (OR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.38, 2.09), availability (OR = 2.17, 95% CI = 1.72, 2.73), and its ability to cook most dishes (OR = 3.79, 95% CI = 2.87, 5.01), were significantly associated with exclusive LPG use. Socio-economic status (higher education) and household wealth (higher income) were also associated with a greater likelihood of LPG adoption. Effective strategies to raise awareness around safe use of LPG and interventions to address financial barriers are needed to scale wider adoption and sustained use of LPG for clean cooking, displacing reliance on polluting solid fuels.
Energy security and environmental sustainability have become an integral policy agenda worldwide whereby the global economic growth policies are being restructured to ensure the reliability of energy supply and safeguard environmental well-being as well. However, technological inefficiency is one of the major hindrances in attaining these over-arching goals. Hence, this paper probed into the non-linear impacts of ICT trade on the prospects of undergoing renewable energy transition, improving energy use efficiencies, enhancing access to cleaner cooking fuels, and mitigating carbon dioxide emissions across selected South Asian economies: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Maldives. The results from the econometric analyses reveal that ICT trade directly increases renewable energy consumption, enhances renewable energy shares, reduces intensity of energy use, facilitates adoption of cleaner cooking fuels, and reduces carbon-dioxide emissions. Moreover, ICT trade also indirectly mitigates carbon-dioxide emissions through boosting renewable energy consumption levels, improving energy efficiencies, and enhancing cleaner cooking fuel access. Hence, these results, in a nutshell, portray the significance of reducing the barriers to ICT trade with respect to ensuring energy security and environmental sustainability across South Asia. Therefore, it is ideal for the government to gradually lessen the trade barriers to boost the volumes of cross-border flows of green ICT commodities. Besides, it is also recommended to attract foreign direct investments for the potential development of the respective ICT sectors of the South Asian economies.
The role of renewable and fossil fuel energy consumption on environmental sustainability remains inconclusive due to varied economic and technological structure. This study provides new insight by assessing the nexus between the utilization of two energy categories-renewable and conventional, environmental quality and economic growth embodying capital, trade openness and government expenditure. A panel data of 45 Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) from 1990 to 2014 was employed in the study. We applied heterogeneous panel data approach and second-generational econometric techniques that permit cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity. The evaluation of long-term effects conducted by AMG, along with CCEMG and MG estimators revealed that besides other factors such as government expenditure, capital, and trade openness, non-renewable and renewable energy utilization significantly contributes to the economic growth of the selected EMDEs. The study acknowledges the trade-off effect between environmental quality and economic growth. Using Dumitrescu and Hurlin test, we found strong evidence to support the feedback hypotheses among renewable energy, consumption of conventional fuels, economic growth and CO 2 emissions. From a policy perspective, the empirical findings recommend the implementation of effective policies that promote green power and economic structural adjustment in order to diminish the level of atmospheric CO 2 emissions.
This study assesses whether improving governance standards affects environmental quality in 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa for the period 2000-2012. The empirical evidence is based on Generalised Method of Moments. Bundled and unbundled governance dynamics are used notably: (i) political governance (consisting of political stability and "voice & accountability"); (ii) economic governance (entailing government effectiveness and regulation quality), (iii) institutional governance (represented by the rule of law and corruption-control) and (iv) general governance (encompassing political, economic and institutional governance dynamics). The following hypotheses are tested: (i) Hypothesis 1 (Improving political governance is negatively related to CO 2 emissions); (ii) Hypothesis 2 (Increasing economic governance is negatively related to CO 2 emissions) and (iii) Hypothesis 3 (Enhancing institutional governance is negatively related to CO 2 emissions. Results of the tested hypotheses show that: the validity of Hypothesis 3 cannot be determined based on the results; Hypothesis 2 is not valid while Hypothesis 1 is partially not valid. The main policy implication is that governance standards need to be further improved in order for government quality to generate the expected unfavorable effects on CO 2 emissions.
Household solid-fuel (biomass, coal) burning contributes to climate change and is a leading health risk factor. How and why households stop using solid-fuel stoves after adopting clean fuels has not been studied. We assessed trends in the uptake, use and suspension of household stoves and fuels in a multiprovincial cohort study of 753 Chinese adults and evaluated determinants of clean-fuel uptake and solid-fuel suspension. Over one-third (35%) and one-fifth (17%) of participants suspended use of solid fuel for cooking and heating, respectively, during the past 20 years. Determinants of solid-fuel suspension (younger age, widowed) and of earlier suspension (younger age, higher education and poor self-reported health status) differed from the determinants of clean-fuel uptake (younger age, higher income, smaller households and retired) and of earlier adoption (higher income). Clean-fuel adoption and solid-fuel suspension warrant joint consideration as indicators of household energy transition. Household energy research and planning efforts that more closely examine solid-fuel suspension may accelerate household energy transitions that benefit climate and human health. Knowing how and why households stop using solid-fuel stoves after adopting clean fuels can inform policies for energy transitions. This study shows that in China over one-third and one-fifth of participants suspended use of solid fuel for cooking and heating, respectively, during the past 20 years.
We reexamine the relationship between CO2 emissions, energy consumption (EC) and economic growth (GDP) for the five main Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN-5) countries over the period 1980-2016. Our main contention is that the findings in previous studies that have examined the relationship between CO2, EC and GDP in the ASEAN-5 are biased because they fail to account for cross-sectional dependence (CD). We show that conventional tests applied to our dataset suggest a misleading conclusion about the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and Granger causal relationship between CO2, EC and GDP in the presence of CD. When we apply a new panel test of Granger non-causality that addresses CD and heterogeneity, we find considerable heterogeneity. We find unidirectional Granger causality running from GDP to CO2 for Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand; unidirectional causality running from GDP to EC in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand; unidirectional causality running from EC to GDP in Singapore and bidirectional causality between GDP and EC in the Philippines. We also find support for the EKC hypothesis for the ASEAN-5 countries.
The East African region has been a hub for the development and marketing of improved cookstoves since the 1980s. However, there are differences in the rates of uptake of stoves between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. This article uses a participatory approach to market mapping, identifying the key barriers to market growth. The findings illustrate common barriers of access to finance, but also differences between the countries in their stove value chains and enabling environments. Participatory use of market mapping techniques would help to catalyse further action at the national level.
Energy is the fundamental component of all economic activity and a central ingredient of international politics. Energy is finite and often creates externalities. A fundamental question then arises about its sustainability. Assessing energy sustainability is important since energy is a key factor of all economies. However, energy generation imposes large pressures on the environment and is mostly based on limited resources. Energy sustainability is related with the provision of adequate, reliable, and affordable energy, in conformity with social and environmental requirements. In this paper we develop a mathematical model that defines and measures energy sustainability for a given region or country. It is based on a number of indicators that cover such aspects as environmental impact, access, health, economy, generation, consumption, and security. Statistical methods and fuzzy logic reasoning lead to an index in [0, 1] and a subsequent ranking. A sensitivity analysis discovers those aspects of an economy that have the highest potential for improving energy sustainability. The model, unlike most existing ones, is nonlinear and uncovers some counterintuitive results such as the higher rankings of Brazil over the USA and Canada. Such results are explained by the high performance of Brazil in the area of energy security and the low scores of the USA and Canada in generation, consumption, and environmental aspects of energy.
Although the role that renewable energy consumption plays on economic growth and emissions has been widely studied, there
are relatively few papers focusing on the determinants of renewable energy consumption, and only one study focuses on the
factors related to the share of renewables in the energy consumption in Africa. This paper contributes to the literature by filling the
gap in knowledge by exploring the nexus between the share of renewables in energy consumption and social and economic
variables, for a panel consisting of 21 African countries for the period between 1990 and 2013, extending the set of variables and
the time span used by a previous study. Estimating a random-effects generalized least squares regression, we find that countries
with a higher Human Development Index and a higher gross domestic product per capita have a lower share of renewable energy
in the national grid. On the other hand, an increase in foreign direct investment has been found to be related to higher renewable
energy integration. The level of democracy, measured by the Freedom House political rights and civil liberties ratings, does not
directly affect the integration level of renewable energy sources. The negative relationship between gross domestic product per
capita and the share of renewables contradicts previous findings for developed countries. This contradiction and policy implications
are discussed in the light of the review of the energy mix of the selected countries.
This paper investigates the effects of trade openness on renewable energy consumption in 35 OECD countries for the period between 1999 and 2018. A panel smooth transition regression model is built. Imports, exports, and total trade are used as proxy variables of trade openness. To reduce the error of omitted variables, a control variable pool is constructed, consisting of foreign direct investment, access to electricity, international remittances, GDP per capita, domestic inflation rate, and carbon emissions. The empirical results demonstrate the existence of a strongly nonlinear relationship between trade openness and renewable energy consumption. In terms of imports, three structural breakpoints are identified: 33.738, 40.945, and 76.395. When the imports reach 40.945% of the GDP, their effect on renewable energy consumption will switch from promoting to inhibiting. Both exports and total trade have one structural breakpoint and can constantly promote renewable energy consumption. The analyses on the temporal and spatial variations of the effects show that imports, exports, and total trade all positively impacts renewable energy consumption between 1999 and 2018. Their effects first follow a downward trend, which later change to an upward trend. Imports, exports, and total trade exert the least impact on renewable energy consumption of OECD Asia Oceania. Regarding specific countries, exports and total trade most strongly impact the renewable energy consumption in Mexico and exert the least impact on the renewable energy consumption of the United States.
Most of the Sub-Saharan African countries are heavily reliant on unclean cooking fuels and have been facing difficulty in overcoming this monotonic cooking fuel dependency. However, considering the environmental and human health concerns regarding the consumption of dirty cooking fuels, it has become imperative for these nations to identify the factors that can enable them to undergo the transition from the use of unclean to clean cooking fuels. Against this backdrop, this current study aims to assess whether improving the level of energy efficiency can enhance access to clean cooking fuel and technology across selected developing nations from Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the first study that separately estimates the effects of gains in energy use efficiency on clean cooking fuel and technology access for the 14 low-income, 16 lower-middle-income, and 4 upper-middle-income Sub-Saharan African countries. The outcomes from this study are anticipated to help the Sub-Saharan African nations and other similar developing nations across the globe to partially attain the clean energy transition targets mentioned under the Sustainable Development Goals agenda of the United Nations. Overall, the results from the econometric analysis indicate that energy efficiency gains initially cannot enhance access to clean cooking fuel and technology but beyond certain energy efficiency thresholds it can be effective in enhancing the access levels. Besides, the predicted energy efficiency thresholds are observed to vary across the Sub-Saharan African nations belonging to different income groups and also across these nations having different levels of clean cooking fuel and technology access for the respective population. However, in all cases, the estimated energy efficiency threshold levels are found to be greater than the mean level of energy use efficiency of these countries. Moreover, results also certify that economic growth, environmental pollution, financial globalization, financial development, and women empowerment are some of the other major drivers of clean cooking fuel transition across Sub-Saharan Africa. However, the impacts of these macroeconomic variables are seen to be relatively larger for the comparatively richer and less unclean cooking fuel-dependent nations. Accordingly, this study recommends that associated governments implement policies that can expedite the rate of energy efficiency improvement, speed up the economic growth rate, restrict the influx of unclean foreign direct investments, develop the financial sector, and ensure greater empowerment of women across this region.
Environmental degradation has become a severe concern across South Asia. Hence, it is important to model the macroeconomic determinants of environmental quality across this region. The traditional fossil fuel dependency of the major South Asian nations is alleged to persistently deteriorating the environmental quality. Hence, it can be hypothesized that intra-regional trade within South Asia can facilitate renewable electricity trade to enhance environmental well-being. Accordingly, this study aims to evaluate the impacts of intra-regional trade integration, renewable energy transition, economic growth, and foreign direct investment inflows on the ecological footprints of selected South Asian economies. The econometric methods used in this study are suited for handling cross-sectionally dependent heterogeneous panel datasets. The overall results reveal that promoting intra-regional trade, stimulating renewable energy transition, expediting economic growth, and impeding inflows of dirty foreign direct investments are imperative for reducing the ecological footprint figures. Besides, the results verify the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for the South Asian panel, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan but not for India and Pakistan. Moreover, the pollution haven hypothesis is also verified for the South Asian countries. In line with these findings, this study recommends four environmental welfare improvement policies.
Helicoidal water-air geothermal heat exchanger (HWAGHE) uses the water well as a heat source/sink for air refreshing purposes in space. It has been exploited as a passive technique to minimize the energy uses in buildings. This work goals to estimate the energy and exergy characteristics of HWAGHE for arid zone weather condition of Algeria. The helicoidally geometry enhancing the heat exchange with the soil is chosen to decrease the operating cost and the needed area. The studied HWAGHE was constructed from a flexible PVC pipe with 30 m length and 0.6 m diameter. It was immersed into a drilled borehole with 1 m diameter and 5 m depth. The heat exchange rate with the ground and exergy and energy efficiencies of HWAGHE is evaluated. Experimental findings revealed that the inlet ambient temperature has a considerable impact on the HWAGHE performances mainly when the change in temperature between the ambient and the water well increments. Maximal exergy and energetic efficiencies of the HWAGHE, reaching 89% and 92%, respectively, are obtained at 0.035 kg s⁻¹ mass flow rate.
This research evaluates the levels and the determinants of energy poverty in rural West Africa using countrywide primary data for Senegal and Togo. The study estimates and compares various indicators for measuring energy poverty and a newly proposed multidimensional measure. The results suggest that rural energy poverty levels vary from 31.2 to 98.5 percent in Senegal and 53.5 to 98.8 percent in Togo. Measures that are based on per capita energy consumption generate higher energy poverty rates in rural Senegal than Togo due to the relative scarcity of fire wood and the relatively larger household size in Senegal. Multidimensional and expenditure-based energy measures generate higher energy poverty in rural Togo than Senegal, reflecting the higher per capita income and greater access to modern energy sources in Senegal compared to Togo. Household income, fertility and the type of fuel used are the main drivers of household energy poverty in both countries. Furthermore, rural households tend to have greater energy consumption when the decisions about energy purchase are made jointly by male and female household members. Thus, public policies that improve rural households' income, foster women's participation in decision-making, and provide affordable energy would help reduce energy poverty in both countries.
The main objective of this review paper is to present the historical development, current utilization, practices and opportunities of geothermal energy in Algeria. Algeria has relatively abundant geothermal resources of low-enthalpy type that could form part of the total energy network of the country. Algeria is the leading country of the direct use of geothermal energy in Africa with a total amount reaching 54.64 MWt installed thermal power, and also among the first five countries in the world in air conditioning application. The main utilization field of geothermal energy in Algeria is balneology, which accounts for about 82 % of the total geothermal power utilization, the remaining 18 % of the energy is consumed for other purposes such as space heating, heat pumps and fish farming. In this study, the existing literature and current practices of the Algeria’s geothermal resources are reviewed and it is revealed that geothermal energy development remained almost stagnant over the past two decades in Algeria although there is a large potential and resources available in the country. Furthermore, geothermal energy use and latest technologies around the world have been summarized. This study elucidates the influencing factors in the development of geothermal energy in Algeria and suggests the development roadmap and a number of measures that can enhance the development of this significant energy source.
Bangladesh has been acknowledged as one of the fast-emerging global economies and its economy is expected to significantly grow in the years to come. As a result, the demand for energy in Bangladesh is likely to surge whereby meeting the rising energy demand would be a major policy concern for the government. Besides, the low per capita energy consumption levels has kept the nation's growth performances below par. Thus, identifying the macroeconomic factors that can elevate the energy consumption levels is pertinent for sustaining the economic growth rate of Bangladesh. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to model the macroeconomic determinants of both primary energy and electricity demands in Bangladesh between 1980 and 2018. The Autoregressive Distributed Lags (ARDL) approach, controlling for multiple structural breaks in the data, is used to ascertain the short- and long-run elasticities of energy demand while the Hacker and Hatemi-J causality analysis is applied to predict the causal relationships. The results from the econometric analysis, in a nutshell, reveal that the primary energy and electricity demands in Bangladesh are positively influenced by the higher levels of economic growth, household consumption expenditure, industrialization, energy imports, urbanization, and institutional quality. In contrast, higher prices of crude oil and greater incidences of income inequality are identified as the key factors that inhibit the overall energy demand in Bangladesh. Besides, energy demand is estimated to have bidirectional causal associations with economic growth, industrialization, and income inequality. Furthermore, unidirectional causations stemming from household consumption expenditure, energy imports, oil prices, and institutional quality are also witnessed. Hence, these findings impose several policy implications concerning sustainable management of energy demand in Bangladesh. It is recommended that the economic growth strategies should complement the energy sustainability objectives of the nation. Besides, it is also ideal for Bangladesh to reduce its imported energy-dependency to make use of the local energy resources. Furthermore, reducing income inequality and improving institutional quality is also recommended for enhancing the overall energy demand in Bangladesh.
The majority of households in the sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) region cook with solid fuel and other polluting fuels like kerosene, and women in this region spend more than 4 hr of their productive time in cooking activities with such energy sources. Such time input in cooking has a high cost on the labor market outcome of women. This study examines the long‐term relationship between cooking technology usage and women's labor market outcomes in 45 SSA countries for the period 2000–2017. The results show that cooking technology usage improves the female labor force participation rate, and reduces the labor force participation gap and female unemployment rate. This finding is consistent even when subjected to a battery of robustness checks. The study also finds some heterogeneous effects in the relationship by the economic structure of the sampled countries.
Innovation is considered an effective tool for fighting CO2 emissions as it enhances energy efficiency and cleaner production. However, it has received limited attention in the context of Africa. Therefore, the study examines the nonlinear link between innovation and CO2 emissions in nine (9) African nations from 1990-2016 at both panel and individual country level. The cross sectional augmented Dickey Fuller (CADF) panel unit root test affirmed the stationarity of the variables. Westerlund and Johansen cointegration tests established a long-run link amongst the variables. The study employed fixed effect model and generalized method of moments for the panel and ordinary least square for individual country. The results validated an inverted U-shape relationship between innovation and CO2 emission at panel level and in Mauritius, Egypt, and South Africa. Renewable energy use lessens CO2 emissions at the panel level. Human capital decreases CO2 emissions at the panel and in some individual countries. Moreover, both pollution haven hypothesis and pollution halo effect were confirmed. Similarly, at the panel level Environmental Kuznets Curve was confirmed in 4 out of 9 countries. Our findings suggest that regional integration and assimilation of innovation into all stages of development for green growth should be pursued.
Researchers have not studied the heterogeneous effect of eco-innovation and human capital on the varying sources of energy. Where this study is the first that attempts to investigate the heterogeneous effect of eco-innovation and human capital along with energy price, financial development, research & development expenditure on the total energy consumption (TEC), non-renewable energy consumption (NREC) and renewable energy consumption (REC) by employing Westerlund and Edgerton's panel cointegration and Augmented Mean Group (AMG) for finding the short and long-run estimates by using data of G-7 countries from 1995 to 2017. This study also uses different macroeconomic variables to conduct sensitivity analysis and to examine their impact on TEC, NREC, and REC. The empirical findings confirm a negative association of human capital, eco-innovation, energy price, and research & development expenditures with TEC and NREC. Whereas financial development has found to be positively associated with TEC and NREC. Moreover, human capital, eco-innovation, energy price, and research & development expenditures enhance REC, while financial development reduces REC. Based on the findings of this study, we recommend investment in human capital development and the formulation of regulation & policies in the financial sector for encouraging the use of eco-innovation.
This study provides new empirical evidence on the determinants of renewable energy consumption in the case of OECD economies over the period from 1990 to 2017. To examine the long run relationship among variables of renewable energy consumption and its determinants, this study uses the Durbin Hausman group mean cointegration test. The long-run and short-run coefficients are estimated via the cross-sectional Autoregressive Distributive Lag (CS-ARDL) method. The significant cointegration vector confirms the long-run equilibrium among the variables presented in the model. The results show that income, human capital, energy productivity, energy prices, and eco-innovation are important factors in explaining renewable energy consumption. This study adopts the Augmented Mean Group (AMG) method to check the robustness of the model. The results are found to be consistent with the estimates of the cross-sectional Autoregressive Distributive Lag Model method. To offer viable solutions to environmental problems and to achieve the targets set in the Paris Climate Agreement, policies and strategies should be devised to increase the share of renewable energy in the overall energy mix.
The increasing concern over global warming and energy security has rejuvenated the renewable energy option as the most vibrant option to sustaining future energy needs. This paper developed a renewable energy consumption model using annual data spanning between 1996 and 2016 in the five most populous countries (Ethiopia, South Africa, Nigeria, DR Congo, and Egypt) in Africa. Following the existing literature on the subject, the driving factors investigated were categorized into three broad areas. These include macroeconomic, socioeconomic, and institutional variables. Altogether, thirty-four predictor variables are analyzed. The study employed Bayesian Model Averaging (BMA) procedures to account for the uncertainty associated model choice and variable selection. The results of the analysis indicate that population growth, urban population, energy use, electric power consumption, human capital are the main determinants of renewable energy consumption in the selected countries. Also, an increase in any of these determinants (population growth, urban population, energy demand/use, electricity power demand/consumption) causes an increase in renewable energy consumption.
The poor households living in low-income countries depend on traditional sources for basic energy service; which has a broader socio-economic and environmental adverse effect. To mitigate the problem policy measures were used to increase access to energy-efficient and renewable energy technology. However, there are few studies on demand-side particularly on the drivers of household joint technology adoption behavior. Against this backdrop, this paper examined the determinants of household behavior concerning the adoption decision of energy-efficient and renewable energy technology using cross-sectional data collected from 195 households in central Ethiopia. For identification, we applied the generalized ordered probit model which is a more flexible discrete choice model. The findings reveal that the richer the households, the more likely that they adopt both improved cookstoves and renewable energy technology because of the greater financial capacity to afford to pay the upfront cost of the technologies. Household size and assets such as landholding size and the number of cattle owned positively associated with the use of both technologies. Likewise, a high level of education attained by the head of the household likely reduces the likelihood of adoption of neither technology but increases the likelihood of adoption of renewable energy. Participation in off-farm income-earning activities likely increases the propensity to invest in renewable energy. Similarly, household membership in local cooperatives found to increase the propensity to invest in renewable energy technology. While access to credit found to increase the adoption of energy-efficient technology. The finding of this study implies that poverty reduction and education policies increase the propensity to invest in energy-efficient and renewable energy technology. Likewise, better access to credit, off-farm employment opportunities, and cooperatives are also important.
The twenty-first century must see a decarbonisation of electricity production to mitigate the flow of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. This paper presents an econometric analysis of the factors that motivate the use of renewable energy in electricity production using panel data from European Union Member States during the period 2000–2015. The research extends the literature in this area in several ways. Firstly, the econometric analysis is focused on the electricity sector rather than on the overall primary energy supply, which also includes the diverse heating and transport sectors. In addition, an alternative public policy variable is proposed using the tax and levy component of electricity bills. Furthermore, an alternative econometric approach is employed using a hybrid mixed effects estimator. The results of this analysis are found to be broadly as expected. Electricity grid interconnection and higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions both motivate the development of renewable electricity, with point elasticities of 0.55 and 0.87 respectively. Policy implications are that policy support for fossil fuels should be ceased; electricity grid interconnections should be developed between countries; and furthermore, levies on retail electricity prices to fund RE support schemes are effective at promoting renewable electricity.
Considering the significance of renewable energy in the sustainable energy future discussion, it is important to understand its influencing factors in order to draw result implications for policy formulation. This study examines these influencing factors for Ghana in the context of an unimpressive renewable electricity scale-up amid the potentials and commitment. It proceeds to forecast the trend of renewable energy fifteen years after the sample period. The results, based on the application of the Vector Error Correction Model and Johansen cointegration technique, on a dataset covering 1980 to 2015, shows that Ghana’s renewable electricity is mainly driven by foreign direct investment and trade openness, with real GDP per capita being inconsequential. What’s more, both financial development and fossil fuel consumption undermine renewable energy development in Ghana. The dynamic forecast reveals an uninspiring future for renewable electricity, as generation will continue to plummet if conditions remain the same. In light of the findings, we recommend determinant-based policies anchored on the intentional handling of the appraised factors. One key contribution of this study is embodied in the fact that it makes the first empirical attempt in examining the determinants of renewable energy in Ghana.
Traditional biomass fuels are commonly used in developing countries including Pakistan due to easy availability, low cost and low awareness among the households. Understanding socioeconomic and environmental factors affecting the use of modern cooking fuels is important for promoting clean cooking fuels in developing countries. Using PSLMS data collected from all four provinces of Pakistan for the years 2004–05 and 2014–15, the present study is designed to find out the determinants of using clean cooking fuels. A discrete choice model empirically is employed to analyze whether sanitation facilities and access to information are more likely to influence the use of clean cooking fuels. Our results show that households with improved sanitation are more probable to invest in clean cooking fuels in 2004–05 and such households are less likely to use clean cooking fuels in 2014–15, mainly due to infrastructure damages resulting from natural disasters. The households with unimproved sanitation are highly likely to use traditional biomass fuels for cooking. In addition to this, households’ wealth, gender, education, employment status, access to market and information and location factors influence probability of using clean cooking fuels. The study concludes that policymakers should take due consideration of geographical, social and environmental dynamics for promoting the use of clean cooking fuels.
Nearly 900 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on traditional biomass for cooking, with negative impacts on health, biodiversity and the climate. In this study, we use the IMAGE modellingframework to construct two sets of scenarios for promoting clean cooking solutions. In the first set, specific policy options to promote clean cooking are evaluated, while in the second the SDG target to achieve universal access to modern cooking energy by 2030 is imposed. The study adds knowledge to understanding the impact of individual policy options on access to clean cooking solutions, and provides insight into synergies and trade-offs of achieving the SDG targets on human health, biodiversity and climate change. The results show that, in the absence of coordinated actions, enabling policies and scaled-up finance, the number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa relying on traditional biomass cookstoves could amount to 660–820 million by 2030. Subsidies on specific clean cooking technologies or fuels could increase their use substantially, but could hinder the uptake of alternative clean cooking fuels or technologies. Meeting the SDG target has considerable social, environmental and economic benefits, and could even lead to lower total fuel expenditures. However, investments in cookstoves need to be quadrupled relative to baseline.
Over the past several years, the analysis of the determinants of renewable energy production has become an increasingly popular topic in academic research and governmental policy around the globe. However, many questions about these factors, especially in the transition economies in Central and Eastern Europe and the Caucasus and Central Asia, remain unanswered. To address this gap, this paper presents novel empirical evidence on the primary economic and political factors shaping transitions to a low carbon economy via renewable energy generation in post-socialist countries. Using extensive data from 27 transition economies over the years 1990-2014, it has been found that higher economic growth and rising level of unemployment and government debt acted as stimulators of renewable energy generation. The implementation of the Kyoto Protocol also led to the significant increase in renewables utilization. Furthermore, increasing CO2 emissions per capita, the implementation of the competition policy and deteriorating competitiveness within the energy market significantly limited production of energy from renewable sources. The findings also suggest that since the beginning of the last global financial crisis in 2007 reinforcement of competition within energy market and additional public funding had a much stronger role to play as factors stimulating renewables deployment.
Keywords: Renewable energy, transition economies, energy transition
This paper attempts to empirically analyze the compatibility of national trade liberalization policies with regards to promoting widespread use of renewable energy resources across 71 low, lower-middle and upper-middle income countries from South Asia, East Asia, Pacific, Central Asia, Latin America, Caribbean islands and Sub-Saharan Africa. Annual time series data from 2000 to 2017 is employed to perform panel data cointegration and regression analyses. The results from the cointegration analyses show long-run associations between trade liberalization policies and the renewable energy consumption indicators. The Instrumental Variable Two-Stage Least Squares panel data estimator is employed to control for the endogeneity in the dataset. The overall results broadly point towards the effectiveness of greater trade openness in facilitating renewable energy transition only in the low-income economies while prolonging the transition periods in the lower and upper-middle income countries. The marginal impact of a rise in the trade openness index is estimated to enhance the renewable energy share in total energy consumption within low-income countries by 0.24% as opposed to lowering this share by 0.19% within lower-middle income economies. However, trade liberalization is found to attribute to greater efficiency of renewable energy use across all the three income groups. Thus, these findings have critically important policy implications for the respective governments.
Significant difference in the emission-renewables nexus across countries with different income levels is frequently ignored in previous studies. To empirically investigate whether the effect of renewable energy consumption on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions differs across countries with different income levels, the emission-growth-renewables nexus for a global panel of 120 countries and 4 income-based subpanels over the period 1995-2015 is examined. Fully considering the potential cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity, a series of econometric techniques allowing for cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity is utilized. Cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity are confirmed for the global panel as well as for all four subpanels. Only for the global panel, high-income subpanel, and upper-middle-income subpanel is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis valid. Renewable energy consumption has a negative effect on CO2 emissions, but its effect is not significant; the mitigation effect may be obscured by higher economic growth and increasing non-renewable energy consumption. The global panel and four subpanels provide mixed directionality of causality among the variables, suggesting that for various income-based subpanels, significant differences exist in the effect of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions, especially highlighting in various direct and indirect influencing paths between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions.
One of the strategic objectives of the European Union is to increase the renewable energy consumption level, in a market which brings together technological, financing and customer engagement innovations. However, little is known about the impact of the financial sector on renewable energy consumption. The aim of the paper is to examine the effect of financial development on renewable energy consumption using a panel data of 28 countries in the European Union (EU) over the period 1990–2015. Our research is based on a panel fixed effects model, where renewable energy consumption is given as a function of income, energy prices, financial development, and foreign direct investments. The results of the empirical analysis show that all three different dimensions of financial development (banking sector, bond market, and capital market) have a positive effect on the share of renewable energy consumption. Additionally, our results show that capital market development does not influence renewable energy consumption in the new EU Member States. Our empirical results give valuable insights into how best to deploy capital in the renewable sector, in order to provide cost-competitive options to customers, with the final objective of expanding higher value-added services.
Economic growth and increasing population is driving the demand for energy in developing economies globally including South Asia. Energy security concerns have heightened in these economies, consequently, raising questions in their ability to meet the key sustainable development goals. This paper specifically examines the inter-relationships between energy security captured through the channel of electricity availability based on electricity consumption and economic output in a multivariate framework incorporating the effects of capital formation and population for Nepal, a developing economy in South Asia. Time series econometrics based on the ARDL bounds test approach to cointegration and the Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality tests are used to examine and test for long run equilibrium relationships and causality between 1975 and 2014. We find that there is no long-run relationship between electricity consumption and economic output for Nepal, distinguishing it at the regional level for South Asia. However, a 1% increase in population increases electricity consumption by 4.16% in the long-run. We propose that large scale development of available renewable energy such as hydropower and improvements in energy efficiency will not only strengthen energy security in the long-run but also will help tackling climate change in South Asian developing economies like Nepal.