The Effects of Macroeconomic Indicators on Renewable Energy Use: The Case of Eastern Europe

This study examines how carbon dioxide emissions per capita, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, percentage of trade in GDP, inflation and foreign direct investment data for 8 Eastern European countries (Romania, Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia, Moldova, Hungary, Slovakia and Belarus) for the period 1992-2021 affect percentage of renewable energy consumption in total energy consumption. The seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) model is the methodology employed in this investigation. According to the SUR model's results, the increase in per capita income increases the share of renewable energy consumption in all countries. However, the increase in per capita carbon emissions has reduced the share of renewable energy consumption. Although the impact of inflation, trade, and foreign direct investments on renewable energy consumption differs across countries, this effect is at a lower level compared to the income effect. The nations with comparatively higher rates of sustainable green growth are Poland, Moldova, and Slovakia. Hungary, Belarus, and Czechia, on the other hand, have a comparatively lesser propensity to use renewable energy.