CO2 emissions, renewable energy and the Environmental Kuznets Curve, a panel cointegration approach

This study combines a panel cointegration analysis with a set of robustness tests to assess the short and long run impacts of renewable energy on CO2 emissions, as well as the Kuznets Environmental Curve hypothesis for 25 selected african countries, over the period 1980-2012. The results provide no evidence of a total validation of EKC predictions. However, CO2 emissions are found to increase with income per capita. The overall estimations strongly reveal that renewable energy, with a negative effect on CO2 emissions, coupled with an increasing long run effect, remains an efficient substitute for the conventional fossil-fuelled energy. Nonetheless, the impact of renewable energy is outweighed by primary energy consumption in both the short and long run, entailing more global synergy for outpacing the environmental challenges.