The environmental tale of two countries: Determinants of CO2 emissions in South Africa and Australia

Titolo Rivista ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Autori/Curatori Chali Nondo, Nicholas Odhiambo, Nyakundi Michieka, Richard Gearhart III
Anno di pubblicazione 2024 Fascicolo 2024/1
Lingua Inglese Numero pagine 25 P. 193-217 Dimensione file 319 KB
DOI 10.3280/EFE2024-001011
Il DOI è il codice a barre della proprietà intellettuale: per saperne di più clicca qui

Qui sotto puoi vedere in anteprima la prima pagina di questo articolo.

Se questo articolo ti interessa, lo puoi acquistare (e scaricare in formato pdf) seguendo le facili indicazioni per acquistare il download credit. Acquista Download Credits per scaricare questo Articolo in formato PDF

Anteprima articolo

FrancoAngeli è membro della Publishers International Linking Association, Inc (PILA)associazione indipendente e non profit per facilitare (attraverso i servizi tecnologici implementati da CrossRef.org) l’accesso degli studiosi ai contenuti digitali nelle pubblicazioni professionali e scientifiche

This study examines the long-run and short-run impact of GDP, urbanization, exports, agricultural activity, air travel, and electricity production on CO2 emissions in South Africa and Australia. Results from the ARDL model show that South Africa’s heavy reliance on coal for electricity generation significantly impacts CO2 emissions. Furthermore, South Africa’s urban population is associated with a concomitant increase in CO2 emission in the long-run. On the other hand, our results show that agricultural land and air transportation have a negative cor- relation with CO2 emissions in South Africa. These results are markedly different from Australia’s long-run estimates, where agricultural land is identified as the significant contributor to CO2 emissions. Additionally, urbanization in Australia is negatively related to CO2 emis- sions. The findings underscore a significant long-term policy challenge for Australia, as fac- tors such as electricity production, agricultural land usage, air travel, GDP, and exports in- crease CO2 emissions. In the case of South Africa, the policy challenge lies in developing policies that will help the country transition from coal-generated electricity to renewable energy and promote efficient urban planning policies.

Keywords:CO2 emissions, agriculture, air transport, South Africa, Australia, ARDL.

Jel codes:C32, O13, Q54, R11

  1. Adebayo, T.S. and Odugbesan, J.A. (2021). Modeling CO2 Emissions in South Africa: Empirical Evidence from ARDL Based Bounds and Wavelet Coherence Techniques. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(8), 9377-9389.
  2. Agboola, M.O. and Bekun, F.V. (2019). Does agricultural value added induce environmental degradation? Empirical evidence from an agrarian country. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(27), 27660-27676.
  3. Ali, H.S., Abdul-Rahim, A.S. and Ribadu, M.B. (2017). Urbanization and Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Singapore: Evidence from the ARDL Approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 24, 1967-1974.
  4. Alola, A.A. and Ozturk, I. (2021). Mirroring risk to investment within the EKC hypothesis in the United States. Journal of Environmental Management, 293, 112890.
  5. Altinay, G. and Karagol, E. (2004). Structural Break, Unit Root, and the Causality between Energy Consumption and GDP in Turkey. Energy Economics, 26, 985-994.
  6. Antweiler, W., Copeland, B.R. and Taylor, M.S. (2001). Is Free Trade Good for the Environment? American Economic Review, 91(4), 877-908.
  7. Balsalobre‐Lorente, D., Driha, O.M., Halkos, G. and Mishra, S. (2021). Influence of Growth and Urbanization on CO2 Emissions: The Moderating Effect of Foreign Direct Investment on Energy Use in BRICS. Sust. Dev.
  8. Brown, R.L., Durbin, J. and Evans, J.M. (1975). Techniques for Testing the Constancy of Regression Relationships over Time. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B (Methodological), 37(2), 149-192.
  9. Button, K. and Yuan, J. (2013). Airfreight transport and economic development: An examination of causality. Urban studies, 50(2), 329-340. DOI: 10.1177/0042098012446999
  10. Capello, R. and Camagni, R. (2000). Beyond optimal city size: an evaluation of alternative urban growth patterns. Urban studies, 37, 1479-1496. DOI: 10.1080/00420980020080221
  11. Cole, M.A. and Elliott, R.J. (2003). Determining the trade-environment composition effect: the role of capital, labor and environmental regulations. Journal of environmental economics and management, 46(3), 363-383.
  12. DeFries, R., Rudel, T., Uriarte, M. and Hansen, M. (2010). Deforestation driven by urban population growth and agricultural trade in the twenty-first century. Nature Geoscience, 3(3), 178-181.
  13. Department of the Environment and Energy (2018). Australian Energy Statistics - Table O Electricity generation by fuel type 2016-17 and 2017. Retrieved from -- https://www.energy.gov.au/publications/australian-energy-statistics-table-o-electricity- generation-fuel-type-2016-17-and-2017.
  14. Dinda, S. (2004). Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: A survey. Ecological Economics, 49, 431-455.
  15. Ederington, J., Levinson, A. and Minier, J. (2004). Trade liberalization and pollution havens.
  16. Advances in Economic Analysis & Policy, 4(2).
  17. Ewing, R. and Cervero, R. (2010). Travel and the built environment: A meta-analysis. Journal of the American planning association, 76(3), 265-294. DOI: 10.1080/01944361003766766.
  18. Fan, Y., Liu, L-C., Wu, G. and Wei, Y-M. (2006). Analyzing Impact Factors of CO2 Emissions using the STIRPAT Model. Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 26(4), 377-395.
  19. FAO (2002). World Agriculture: Towards 2015/2030, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Retrieved from -- https://www.fao.org/3/ Y3557E/Y3557E00.htm.
  20. Graver, B., Rutherford, D. and Zheng, S. (2020). CO2 Emissions From Commercial Aviation: 2013, 2018, and 2019. International Council on Clean Transportation, Washington D. C. Retrieved from -- https://theicct.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/CO2-commercial- aviation-oct2020.pdf.
  21. Hakim, M. and Merkert, R. (2016). The causal relationship between air transport and economic growth: Empirical evidence from South Asia. Journal of Transport Geography, 56, 120-127.
  22. Harper, A.B., Powell, T., Cox, P.M., House, J., Huntingford, C., Lenton, T.M., ... and Shu, S. (2018). Land-Use Emissions Play a Critical Role in Land-Based Mitigation for Paris Climate Targets. Nature Communications, 9(1), 2938.
  23. Hutchinson, J.J., Campbell, C.A. and Desjardins, R.L. (2007). Some Perspectives on Carbon Sequestration in Agriculture. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 142(2-4), 288-302.
  24. Khan, Z.A., Koondhar, A.M., Khan, I., Uzair, A. and Tianjun, L. (2021). Dynamic linkage between industrialization, energy consumption, carbon emission, and agricultural products export of Pakistan: an ARDL approach. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28, 43698-43710.
  25. IMF (2023). South Africa Carbon Pricing And Climate Mitigation Policy, Selected Issues Paper No. 40, International Monetary Fund.
  26. IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). (2022). Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 2022. Web. Accessed December 30, 2023. Retrieved from -- https://www.ipcc.ch/ report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_TechnicalSummary.pdf.
  27. Ivanovski, K. and Churchill, S.A. (2020). Convergence and determinants of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia: A regional analysis. Energy Economics, 92, 104971.
  28. Jayanthakumaran, K. and Liu, Y. (2016). Bi-Lateral CO2 Emissions Embodied in Australia- China Trade. Energy Policy, 92, 205-213.
  29. Kohler, M. (2013). CO2 Emissions, Energy Consumption, Income, and Foreign Trade: A South African Perspective. Energy Policy, 63, 1042-1050.
  30. Li, K. and Lin, B. (2015). Impacts of urbanization and industrialization on energy consumption/CO2 emissions: does the level of development matter? Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 52, 1107-1122.
  31. Lin, B., Omoju, O.E., Nwakeze, N.M. and Okonkwo, J.U. (2016). Is the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis a Sound Basis for Environmental Policy in Africa? Journal of Cleaner Production, 133, 712-724.
  32. Lynch, J., Cain, M., Frame, D. and Pierrehumbert, R. (2021). Agriculture’s contribution to climate change and role in mitigation is distinct from predominantly fossil CO2-emitting sectors. Frontiers in sustainable food systems, 4, 518039.
  33. Ma, M., Ma, X., Cai, W. and Cai, W. (2019). Carbon-dioxide mitigation in the residential building sector: a household scale-based assessment. Energy Conversion and Management, 198, 111915.
  34. Managi, S., Hibiki, A. and Tsurumi, T. (2009). Does Trade Openness Improve Environmental Quality? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 58(3), 346-363.
  35. Marques, A.C., Fuinhas, J.A. and Leal, P.A. (2018). The impact of economic growth on CO2 emissions in Australia: The environmental Kuznets curve and the decoupling index. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, 27283-27296.
  36. Martínez-Zarzoso, I. and Maruotti, A. (2011). The impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions: evidence from developing countries. Ecological Economics, 70(7), 1344-1353.
  37. Naranpanawa, A. (2011). Does trade openness promote carbon emissions? Empirical Evidence from Sri Lanka. The Empirical Economics Letters, 10, 973-986.
  38. Nondo, C. and Kahsai, M.S. (2020). The impact of energy intensity, urbanisation, industrialisation, and income on CO2 emissions in South Africa: an ARDL bounds testing approach. African Journal of Economic and Sustainable Development, 7(4), 307-330.
  39. Odhiambo, N.M. (2009). Energy Consumption and Economic Growth Nexus in Tanzania: An ARDL Bounds Testing Approach. Energy Policy, 37, 617-622.
  40. Pao, H.T. and Tsai, C.M. (2011). Modeling and forecasting the CO2 emissions, energy consumption, and economic growth in Brazil. Energy, 36(5), 2450-2458.
  41. Perman, R. and Stern, D.I. (2003). Evidence from Panel Unit Root and Cointegration Tests that the Environmental Kuznets Curve Does Not Exist. Australian Journal of Agricultural Resources and Economics, 47, 325-347. DOI: 10.1111/1467-8489.00216
  42. Perron, P. (1989). The Great Crash, the Oil Price Shock, and the Unit Root Hypothesis. Econometrica, 57(6), 1361-1401. DOI: 10.2307/1913712
  43. Pesaran, M.H. and Shin, Y. (1999). An autoregressive distributed lag modelling approach to cointegration analysis. In: Strøm, S. (ed.). Econometrics and Economic Theory in the 20th Century: The Ragnar Frisch Centennial Symposium. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 371-413.
  44. Peters, G.P. and Hertwich, G. (2008). CO2 embodied in international trade with implications for global climate policy. Environmental Science Technology, 42(5), 1401-1407.
  45. Poumanyvong, P. and Kaneko, S. (2010). Does urbanization lead to less enery use and lower CO2 emissions? A cross-country analysis. Ecological Economics, 434-444.
  46. Rehman, A., Ozturk, I. and Zhang, D. (2019). The Causal Connection between CO2 Emissions and Agricultural Productivity in Pakistan: Empirical Evidence from an Autoregressive Distributed Lag Bounds Testing Approach. Applied Sciences, 9(8), 1692.
  47. Sarkodie, S.A. and Ozturk, I. (2020). Investigating the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis in Kenya: a multivariate analysis. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 117, 109481.
  48. Sarkodie , S.A. and Strezov, V. (2018). Assessment of contribution of Australia’s energy production to CO2 emissions and environmental degradation using statistical dynamic approach. Science of the Total Environment, 639, 888-899.
  49. Shahbaz, M., Tiwari, A.K. and Nasir, M. (2013). The effects of financial development, economic growth, coal consumption and trade openness on CO2 emissions in South Africa. Energy Policy, 61, 1452-1459.
  50. Shahbaz, M., Bhattacharya, M. and Ahmed, K. (2017). CO2 Emissions in Australia: Economic and Non-Economic Drivers in The Long-Run. Applied Economics, 49(13), 1273-1286. DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2016.1217306
  51. Shahbaz, M., Solarin, S.A., Sbia, R. and Bibi, S. (2015). Does Energy Intensity Contribute to CO2 Emissions? A Trivariate Analysis in Selected African Countries. Ecological Indicators, 50, 215-224.
  52. Stern, D.I. (2004). The Rise and Fall of the Environmental Kuznets Curve. World Development, 32, 1419-1439.
  53. UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) (2022). The Emissions Gap Report 2022.
  54. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Nairobi.
  55. Wang, W.-Z., Liu, L.-C., Liao, H. and Wei, Y.-M. (2021). Impacts of Urbanization on Carbon Emissions: An Empirical Analysis from OECD Countries. Energy Policy, 151, 112171.
  56. Wiebe, K.S., Bruckner, M., Giljum, S. and Lutz, C. (2012). Calculating energy-related CO2 emissions embodied in international trade using a global input-output model. Economic Systems Research, 24(2), 113-139. DOI: 10.1080/09535314.2011.643293
  57. World Bank (2018). World Development Indicators, Washington, DC. World Bank (2023). World Development Indicators, Washington, DC.
  58. World Resources Institute (2023). WRI’s Sustainability Data. Retrieved from -- https://www.wri.org/data.
  59. Zivot, E. and Andrews, D.W.K. (2002). Further Evidence on the Great Crash, the Oil-Price Shock, and the Unit-Root Hypothesis. Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, 20, 25-44. DOI: 10.1198/073500102753410372
  60. Zou, B., Elke, M. and Hansen, M. (2012). Evaluating air carrier fuel efficiency and CO2 emissions in the US airline industry. The National Center of Excellence for Aviation Operations Research, Berkeley.

Chali Nondo, Nicholas Odhiambo, Nyakundi Michieka, Richard Gearhart III, The environmental tale of two countries: Determinants of CO2 emissions in South Africa and Australia in "ECONOMICS AND POLICY OF ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT" 1/2024, pp 193-217, DOI: 10.3280/EFE2024-001011