Assessment of the environmental kuznets curve within EU-27: Steps toward environmental sustainability (1990-2019)

Safwan Mohammed; Abid Rashid Gill; Kaushik Ghosal; Main Al-Dalahmeh; Karam Alsafadi; Szilárd Szabó; Judit Oláh; Ali Alkerdi; Akasairi Ocwa; Endre Harsanyi

doi:10.1016/j.ese.2023.100312

Assessment of the environmental kuznets curve within EU-27: Steps toward environmental sustainability (1990-2019)

Environ Sci Ecotechnol. 2023 Sep 19:18:100312. doi: 10.1016/j.ese.2023.100312. eCollection 2024 Mar.

Authors

Safwan Mohammed^{1

2}, Abid Rashid Gill³, Kaushik Ghosal⁴, Main Al-Dalahmeh⁵, Karam Alsafadi⁶, Szilárd Szabó⁷, Judit Oláh^{8

9}, Ali Alkerdi¹⁰, Akasairi Ocwa^{1

11}, Endre Harsanyi^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Land Use, Engineering and Precision Farming Technology, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences and Environmental Management, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi 138, H-4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
² Institutes for Agricultural Research and Educational Farm, University of Debrecen, Böszörményi 138, H-4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
³ Department of Economics, The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology, Shibpur, P.O. 711103, Botanic Garden, Howrah, West Bengal, 711103, India.
⁵ Institute of Management and Organization Sciences, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, Egyetem Tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
⁶ School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China.
⁷ Department of Physical Geography and Geoinformatics, Faculty of Sciences and Technology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
⁸ Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Debrecen, 4032, Debrecen, Hungary.
⁹ Department of Trade and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, 16500, Prague, Czech Republic.
¹⁰ Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, Kahramanmaras Sütçü Imam University, Turkey.
¹¹ Department of Agriculture Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyambogo University P.O.B. 1, Kyambogo, Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract

Reducing environmental pollution is a critical goal in global environmental economics and economic development. The European Union (EU) faces environmental challenges due to its development activities. Here we present a comprehensive approach to assess the impact of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions, energy consumption (EC), population structure (POP), economy (GDP), and policies on the environment within the EU using the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). Our research reveals that between 1990 and 2019, the EU-27 experienced an increase of +1.18 million tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) per year in energy consumption (p < 0.05), while CO₂ emissions decreased by 24.25 million tonnes (Mt) per year (p < 0.05). The highest reduction in CO₂ emissions occurred in Germany (-7.52 Mt CO₂ annually), and the lowest in Latvia (-0.087 Mt CO₂ annually). The empirical EKC analysis shows an inverted-U shaped relationship between GDP and CO₂ emissions in the EU-27. Specifically, a 1% increase in GDP results in a 0.705% increase in carbon emission, while a 1% increase in GDP² leads to a 0.062% reduction in environmental pollution in the long run (p < 0.01). These findings indicate that economic development within the EU has reached a stage where economic growth positively impacts the environment. Overall, this study provides insights into the effectiveness of environmental policies in mitigating degradation and promoting green growth in the EU 27 countries.

Keywords: Climate change; Environmental management; Green growth; Sustainable communities.