Open AccessCO2 emissions determinants: The case of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) countries
Author(s) -
Asma Esseghir
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
insight-energy science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2661-3042
DOI - 10.18282/i-es.v0i0.293
Subject(s) - greenhouse gas , renewable energy , industrialisation , natural resource economics , climate change , sustainability , economics , mediterranean climate , developing country , economic growth , engineering , geography , ecology , market economy , archaeology , electrical engineering , biology
Awareness of climate change dangers on environmental sustainability has prompted some researcher to understand the explanatory factors behind increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Being the most important anthropogenic GHG in the atmosphere and the main cause of the environmental degradation, this paper aims to investigate the factors that are associated with variations in CO2 emissions in the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) countries from 1990 to 2010, in order to design and implement appropriate policies. We use the Dynamic Common Correlated Effects (DCCE) estimation method regarding its power in the presence of heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence between variables. We find that improvement in energy efficiency and increasing use of renewable energy would positively affect CO2 emissions abatement. However, economic growth and industrialization development affect it negatively. Country analysis shows that the negative effect of economic activity on CO2 appears more in developing countries. Industrialization negatively affects CO2 emissions - mainly in developed countries. The positive effect of renewable energy as well as energy efficiency in curbing CO2 emissions is well pronounced in developed countries. Results also prove that the UfM developed and developing countries illustrate complementarities and necessities of exchanging and sharing to fight against climate change.