The impact of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions: Evidence from selected Asia and the Pacific countries

This study investigates the impact of renewable energy consumption on CO ₂ emissions and tests the validity of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis using balanced panel data from 38 Asian and Pacific countries from 2003 to 2022. Both static and dynamic models were employed, including pooled OLS, random effects, and fixed effects models for the static analysis, and a two-step system GMM model for the dynamic analysis. The results from the static analyses indicate that renewable energy consumption negatively impacts CO ₂ emissions in the selected regions. The two-step system GMM analysis further confirms that renewable energy consumption helps reduce CO ₂ emissions. Moreover, our findings reveal that the GDP per capita growth rate positively affects CO ₂ emissions, while the squared term of the GDP per capita growth rate supports the validity of the EKC for these 38 countries. Policymakers should promote the use of renewable energy, prioritize environmental sustainability in economic activities, and implement measures to achieve the turning point of the EKC.