Effect of Renewable Energy on Co2 Emission in Sub Saharan Africa

This study examined the effect of renewable energy on CO2 emissions in a group of forty-five nations in Sub-Saharan Africa using the data spanned from 1980 and 2020. It is pertinent to note that renewable energy usage can be felt in industrialization; therefore, industrialization as a variable was captured alongside. For this, a two-step system GMM estimator was employed, which accounts for endogeneity while ignoring variable bias. The study found that higher industry value additions resulted in increased CO2 emissions, whereas increased renewable power generation resulted in less environmental damage. If the increase in renewable power generation is causal, it cuts carbon emissions by 0.22 percent. Furthermore, it was discovered that the usage of renewable energy mediates the link between industry value additions and CO2 emissions. It was recommended that authorities of SSA countries should encourage the usage of renewables through various policies and programs.