Freight transport and energy consumption: What impact on carbon dioxide emissions and environmental quality in MENA countries?

This article aims to study the impact of fossil energy demand and freight transportation on carbon emissions for Middle Eastern and North African countries over 2000-2018. To estimate the possible relationships, we used the GMM estimators. Furthermore, the Dumitrescu-Hurlin panel causality test was applied to analyze the causality between the variables. The results prove that the effects of freight transport and energy consumption on CO(2)emissions, then on environmental degradation, are positive and significant for both global and sub-panels. Also, we found that the carbon emissions are driven by growth, urbanization, trade openness and financial development. These findings justify the rapid emergence of new concepts such as sustainable development, sustainable transport and energy efficiency considered as helpful policies to effectively resist the serious environmental degradation.

Automated summary

The article investigates the impact of fossil energy demand and freight transportation on carbon emissions in Middle Eastern and North African countries from 2000 to 2018. The results show that freight transport and energy consumption have a significant positive effect on environmental degradation, while carbon emissions are driven by growth, urbanization, trade openness, and financial development. This highlights the importance of sustainable development, sustainable transport, and energy efficiency as effective policies to combat environmental degradation.