Renewable Energy and CO₂ Emissions: Empirical Evidence from Major Energy-Consuming Countries

Abstract

The goal of this study was to contribute to the ongoing debate on the relationship between renewable energy (RE) and CO2 emissions. In particular, we explored the link between RE and CO2 emissions in a sample of major renewable energy-consuming countries for the period 2000–2015. Therefore, the major contribution of this study was to answer the question of whether a substantial shift to renewable energy consumption will lead to lower CO2 emissions. Using the two-step generalized method of moments (GMM) estimator, our empirical results suggested that RE has a significant negative effect on CO2 emissions. For example, a one percentage point increase in RE leads to a 0.5% decrease in CO2 emissions.

Keywords

• renewable energy
• CO₂ emissions
• two-step GMM