A review on the method for investigating carbon dioxide emissions in ASEAN

Abstract

In the past, there was a strong positive correlation between gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions worldwide. However, as the effects of climate change become more pronounced, particularly in ASEAN, it is crucial to assess the relationship between these two indicators. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the applications of standard analyses: (i) decoupling and (ii) decomposition, which are applied to assess the relationship between the two indicators within ASEAN during 2017-2020. Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam were selected and studied as these five ASEAN sovereign states constitute Tiger Cub economies that reflect the geographical diversity of ASEAN. Two analyses were deemed necessary for the methodology of this study: (i) decoupling and (ii) decomposition. The Tapio model was found to be optimal for the decoupling analysis due to its sensitivity to GDP growth in classification. For decomposition, it was also found that the Kaya identity followed by the additive LMDI-I was recommended for decomposition, mainly because it provides physical values as opposed to indices. The methodology described would create a comprehensive database of selected decoupling and decomposition indicators for benchmarking amongst ASEAN sovereign states with these considerations and recommendations.