Does ecological footprint matter for the shape of the environmental Kuznets curve? Evidence from European countries

Abstract

The study empirically examines the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypotheses by investigating the relationship between ecological footprint, economic growth, energy consumption, and population growth. The study uses ecological footprint as a measurement of environmental degradation which is a more comprehensive indicator and considers all factors responsible for environmental degradation. Keeping in view the problem of cross-sectional dependence, a more efficient estimation tools like pooled mean group and augmented mean group have been used to estimate the long-run parameters for 22 European countries from 1995 through 2015. Results of the study found a quadratic relationship between income growth and ecological footprint and support validity of EKC. Energy consumption positively contributes to ecological footprint, while population growth plays no significant role in determining environmental quality. The long-run estimates of the study are validated through robustness analysis by employing dynamic ordinary least square (DOLS) and fully modified ordinary least square (FMOLS) techniques. Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) panel non-causality test indicated that there is a unidirectional causality running from GDP to ecological footprint while bidirectional causality running between energy consumption and ecological footprint. The study identified that population growth in European region is not a severe issue as compared to intensive energy consumption. Policies which restrict emission, deforestation, and water pollution should be adopted for sustainability of environment.

Renewable Energy Use and Ecological Footprints Mitigation: Evidence from Selected South Asian Economies

“…The real GDP per capita figures, measured in terms of constant 2010 US dollars, are used as a proxy for the economic growth level of the South Asian countries. As per the EKC hypothesis, the positive and negative signs of the predicted elasticity parameters δ 1 and δ 2 would validate the inverted U-shaped nexus between economic growth and EF [42,44], thus validating the EKC hypothesis. The variable lnRECPC stands for the per capita renewable energy consumption levels measured in kilograms of oil equivalent.…”

“…Identical findings were reported in other country-specific studies by Bulut [39] for Turkey, Selim and Rivas [40] for Uruguay, and Mrabet and Alsamara [41] for Qatar. On the other hand, using panel datasets, Saqib and Benhmad [42] opined that the EKC hypothesis was held in the context of 22 European nations. Similarly, in a recent study on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) states, Kongbuamai et al [43] also validated the EKC hypothesis to verify the inverted U-shaped nexus between economic growth and EFs.…”

Effect of Battery Electric Vehicles on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 29 European Union Countries

“…As we already know, there exist several drives that lead to the increase of GHGs emissions. Energy, economic growth, globalisation, urbanisation, trade, and transportation, are widely explored in literature (e.g., Squib and Benhmad [22]; Koengkan et al [23]; Leitão [24]; Ouédraogo et al [25]; Balsalobre-Lorente et al [26]; Shahbaz et al [27]; Simionescu [28]; Leitão et al [29]; Nwani [30]; Uzuner et al [31]; Dogan and Inglesi-Lotz [32]; Ike et al [33]; Badulescu et al [34]; Panait et al [35]; Koengkan et al [36]; Destek et al [37]; and Grossman and Kruger [38,39]). Thus, the main objective of this investigation is to explore the effect of BEVs on GHGs emissions in the EU using a macroeconomic approach.…”

Analysis of the New Kuznets Relationship: Considering Emissions of Carbon, Methanol, and Nitrous Oxide Greenhouse Gases—Evidence from EU Countries

“…Mostly used are narrow ones like sulphur and carbon. CO 2 is the most used, but we also find studies applying CH 4 [ 39 ], N 2 O [ 39 , 40 ], nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) [ 41 ], nitrogen oxides (NOx) [ 42 ], sulphur dioxide (SO 2 ) [ 43 ], non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) [ 44 ], sulphur oxides (SOx) [ 43 ], particulate matter with a diameter of 10 µm or less (PM 10 ) [ 41 ], ecological footprint [ 18 , 45 , 46 ] and coal consumption [ 47 ]. Reference [ 48 ] points out that the EKC hypothesis and the empirical literature are sensitive to the choice of the environmental burden measure adopted, with the validation of the hypothesis when local pollutants are used, not being true when the measures adopted are global emissions (like CO 2 ).…”

“…They confirmed the neutrality hypothesis verifying the causal link between economic growth and primary energy consumption. Reference [ 46 ] also empirically analyzed the EKC hypothesis considering as the environmental degradation variable the ecological footprint. On the right-hand side of their equation, the authors included economic growth, energy consumption, and population growth.…”