Trade Openness and Environmental Sustainability in Armenia: An Empirical Analysis of CO2 Emissions (2001–2024)

This paper examines the relationship between international trade openness, economic development, and environmental sustainability in Armenia during 2001-2024.The main objective is to identify the relationship between trade openness, GDP per capita, and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions.The study uses annual statistical data from the World Bank and applies descriptive statistical analysis, trend analysis, and multiple linear regression.The results demonstrate that Armenia experienced substantial growth in international trade and economic activity during the research period, accompanied by an overall increase in CO 2 emissions per capita.However, the dynamics of these indicators were not uniform.The regression analysis revealed a positive but statistically insignificant relationship between trade openness and CO 2 emissions.In contrast, GDP per capita demonstrated a positive and statistically significant association with carbon emissions.The regression model explained approximately 89.4% of the variation in the logarithm of CO 2 emissions.The findings suggest that the environmental consequences of Armenia's economic development cannot be explained by trade openness alone.The structure of foreign trade, energy consumption, and production characteristics may also play important roles.The research emphasizes the importance of combining international economic integration with improvements in energy efficiency, cleaner technologies, and sustainable production.The results provide a basis for further research on the relationship between international trade and environmental sustainability in small open economies.