The Impact of Renewable Energy on Carbon Dioxide Emissions: An Empirical Analysis of Selected South Asian Countries

Abstract

This study attempts to explore the impact of renewable energy, nonrenewable energy, trade openness and urbanization on carbon dioxide emissions in the selected South Asian countries over the period 1990 to 2014. The study used Panel Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) for analyzing the relationship between renewable energy, nonrenewable energy, trade openness, urbanization, and carbon dioxide emissions. The results from the FMOLS show that renewable energy is negatively associated with emissions, whereas nonrenewable energy is positively associated with CO2 emissions. Furthermore the empirical estimation revealed that the increase in trade openness increases CO2 emissions. Interestingly, urbanization decreases carbon dioxide emissions in our analysis of selected South Asian region. It implies that increasing the use of renewable energy is an effective policy to mitigate global warming in the South Asian region.