The role of renewable versus non-renewable energy to the level of CO2 emissions a panel analysis of sub- Saharan Africa's Βig 10 electricity generators

In this study, we aim to address these gaps of the literature by estimating the determinants (renewable and non-renewable energy, income and trade openness) of CO2 emissions for the ten biggest electricity generators in Sub-Saharan Africa for the period 1980 to 2011 by employing panel estimation techniques robust to cross dependence. A long-run relationship between the main variables is confirmed. Increases in non-renewable energy consumption intensify pollution while the opposite holds for renewable energy. With regards to direction of causal relationships, we observe a unidirectional causality running from emissions, income, trade and non-renewable energies towards renewable energies; from non-renewable energy to emissions; and from emissions and non-renewable energies to trade.