A dynamic relationship between renewable energy consumption, nonrenewable energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emissions: Evidence from Asian emerging economies

Abstract

This study aims to examine the linkages between renewable energy consumption (REC), nonrenewable energy consumption (NREC), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions, and economic growth in emerging Asian countries during the period 1975–2020 using a panel augmented mean group (AMG) estimation technique. The results of the long-run coefficient elasticity show that REC, NREC, employed labor force, and capital formation contribute significantly to long-run economic growth. The research analysis also found that NREC significantly increases long-term carbon emissions while REC significantly reduces long-term carbon emissions. Moreover, gross domestic product (GDP) and GDP 3 have a significant positive impact on environmental degradation while GDP 2 has a significant adverse impact on environmental pollution, thus validating the N-shaped Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis in selected emerging Asian economies. The country-wise AMG strategy points out that India and Bangladesh have no EKC hypothesis, China and Singapore have an inverted U-shaped EKC hypothesis and Japan and South Korea have an N-shaped EKC hypothesis. Empirical evidence from Dumitrescu and Hurlin's causality test shows a two-way causality between REC and economic growth, supporting the feedback hypothesis. Strategically, this study suggests that more renewable energy is a viable strategy to address energy security and reduce carbon emissions to protect the environment and boost future economic growth in selected emerging Asian countries.