Renewable Energy Consumption and Environmental Sustainability in Canada: Does Political Stability Make a Difference?

Energy is unquestionably necessary for economic progress; nevertheless, it also produces CO2 emissions, which are the primary cause of climate change and environmental degradation. Renewable energy, which consists of non-carbohydrate energy sources that do not or seldom emit emissions, can assist the accomplishment of both ecological sustainability and sustainable development in this respect. Against this background, this paper takes into account political risk and assesses the impact of renewable energy use on CO2 emissions in Canada from 1990 to 2018 controlling economic growth and trade globalization. The present research utilized an innovative dynamic ARDL method that overcomes the limitations of the ARDL method. The results revealed significant evidence of cointegration. In the long run, we established that a surge in economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization mitigates environmental degradation. Furthermore, the outcomes of the frequency domain causality disclosed that in the long term, economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization can predict CO2 emissions in Canada. Since the political stability in Canada has helped to attract foreign firms to invest. Therefore, ensuring political stability will bring in more foreign investment, forcing the Canadian government to take its climate crisis problem more seriously.

Automated summary

This paper examines the impact of renewable energy use on CO2 emissions in Canada, taking into account political risk. The study finds that in the long run, economic growth, political risk, renewable energy use, and trade globalization can mitigate environmental degradation and predict CO2 emissions in Canada.