The Environmental Kuznets Curve and Renewable Energy Consumption: A Review

Abstract

Renewable energy consumption (REC) would reduce pollution and a large pool of literature has probed the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) including REC in a panel or a country-specific model. The present study reviewed 69 empirical studies and found that 57 out of 69 studies validated the EKC but 12 studies did not confirm the EKC. Out of these, 64 studies found that REC reduced emissions. In the country-specific analyses, 18 out of 25 studies validated the EKC and 24 out of 25 studies substantiated that REC reduced emissions. In the panel studies, 39 out of 44 studies validated the EKC and 40 out of 44 studies found that REC reduced emissions. Comparatively, panel studies reported more evidence of the EKC compared to country-specific studies. However, country-specific studies reported more evidence of the positive environmental effect of REC. The results of logistic regression show that the chance of the validity of the EKC is 4.82 times more in the studies if REC reduced emissions in a model. Thus, future studies on EKC testing should include REC in the model. In comparison, panel studies carry more chance of confirmation of the EKC than country-specific studies.