Renewable Energy and CO2 Emissions in Upper-Middle Income Transition Countries

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions in a sample of 12 upper middle income transitioning countries using data from 1995 to 2022. This study relies on a number of panel data estimation methods such as OLS, fixed effects regression and cointegration techniques. Across all estimations with find that renewable energy decreases CO2 emissions even after controlling for economic growth and trade openness. In addition, the results from Dumitrescu and Hurlin (2012) suggest that there is unidirectional causality from renewable energy to CO2 emissions in our sample. This study offer a number of policy implications and avenues for future research.