Greenhouse Gas Emissions Growth in Europe: A Comparative Analysis of Determinants

Abstract

Understanding the underlying reasons for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions trends in different countries is fundamental for climate change mitigation. This paper identifies the main determinants that affect GHG emissions growth and assesses their impact and differences among countries in Europe. Previous studies have produced inconclusive results and presented several limitations, such as the lack of quality of the data used, the reduced identification of determinants and the use of methods that did not enable hypothesis testing. Conversely, this research identifies an extended list of determinants of GHG emissions, performs an in-depth statistical analysis and contrasts the significance of determinants using panel data and multiple linear regression models for the period 1990–2017 for the main Eurozone countries. The study found that GDP and final energy intensity are the main drivers for the reduction of GHG emissions in Europe. Furthermore, energy prices are not significant and heterogeneous results are found for the renewable energy, fuel mix and carbon intensity determinants, pointing to a different behavior at the country level. The uneven impact of the main determinants of GHG emission growth suggest that a differentiated application of European policies at country level will enhance the efficiency of mitigation efforts in Europe.

International Environmental Agreements and CO2 Emissions: Fresh Evidence from 11 Polluting Countries

“…However, our findings differ from Attiaoui et al where authors find a positive linkage between CO 2 emissions and GDP in both the long and the short run (Attiaoui et al 2017). Regarding renewable energy consumption, the estimates do not provide evidence of a potential linkage that differs from previous empirical attempts (Azam et al 2021a;González-Sánchez and Martín-Ortega 2020). The Hausman tests for PMG, MG, and DFE estimations prove that PGM is superior to MG estimation and Dynamic FE estimates are also preferred to PMG.…”

Greenhouse gas emissions intensity of food production systems and its determinants

“…Based on research using this indicator, Pelletier et al [ 36 ] noted that a significant source of GHG emissions in food production in the United States (US) includes emissions from energy consumption in the processing industry, including cooking, chilling, and freezing, which accounts for 15–20% of the total energy consumption in the US food system, also including distribution. Research on the determinants of GHG emissions associated with food production is well documented [ 37 ]; however, there is a lack of research on the determinants of emission intensity for food production. Specifying these determinants allows for verifying which factors have a stronger impact on the production in comparison to the increase in GHG emissions, which is important from the point of view of the possibility of decreasing the emissions per production unit.…”

Determinants of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

“…Studies that connect economic activities (e.g., GDP) and the environment debate include Chien and Sadiq (2022), Gonzalez-Sanchez andMartin-Ortega (2020), andSterpu et al (2018), which observed a similar positive relationship between GDP and per capita GHG emission (environmental degradation). , in a study titled climate change scarce and FDI migration, found that FDI migration affects CO2 emissions' trend in Sierra Leone and Nigeria differently.…”