Main determinants for ecological footprint: an econometric perspective from G20 countries

Abstract

Unsurprisingly, many studies consider CO₂ emissions to capture the environment quality needed for testing the augmented environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. However, this is a major limitation of the existing literature because CO₂ alone cannot account for environmental pollution. By employing a more comprehensive proxy ecological footprint, this study aims to examine EKC in G20 economies during 1991–2016. To achieve the objective, a second-generation panel data model was implemented, which accounted for the heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. The findings reveal that environmental degradation has an inverted N-shaped linkage with economic growth in the selected countries. It is further observed that globalization, renewable energy consumption, and urbanization improve the environmental quality, whereas non-renewable energy consumption mitigates the quality of environment in G20 countries. With these conclusions, it is suggested that policymakers from these countries should emphasize on more renewable energy usage.

Keywords

Ecological footprint / Economic growth / Renewable energy / Environmental kuznets curve / Globalization / Cross-sectional dependency

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