The nexus between greenhouse gases, economic growth, energy and trade openness in Vietnam

This study explores the nexus between greenhouse gases (GHG) with economic growth (GDP), fossil fuel consumption (FEC), renewable energy (REC) and trade openness (TRO) in Vietnam by using the panel ARDL approach from 1980 to 2018 through the data set retrieved from the World Bank (2022). The results show that all four factors impact GHG emissions, in which GDP has the most substantial impact, followed by REC, FEC and TRO in the first-order model. While GDP, FEC and TRO have positive effects on GHG emission, REC indicates a negative effect, which means that more REC could reduce the release of GHG. However, the coefficient of this factor is only -0.311 compared to 0.622 of GDP at the same 1% significance level. The selected model seems to fit the investigated data with an adjusted R2 of approximately 0.929. The results also demonstrate that the second and third forms of GDP to GHG emissions are unsuitable for the data. Based on the analysis results, the study also proposes some policy implications which reduce the intensity of GHG but still promote economic growth as follows: (1) reduce greenhouse gas emissions the contribution to GDP growth such as industry, construction, transport, agriculture, tourism services which green technology; (2) reduce the use of fossil energy and replace it with renewable energy sources; (3) perfecting the legal framework to encourage economic sectors and businesses to effectively use natural resources, especially re-valuing the cost of carbon emissions. (c) 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Automated summary

This study explores the relationship between greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth, fossil fuel consumption, renewable energy, and trade openness in Vietnam. The results show that all four factors impact greenhouse gas emissions, with economic growth having the most substantial impact. The study also provides policy implications for reducing greenhouse gas intensity while promoting economic growth.