An econometric study of the impact of economic growth and energy use on carbon emissions: Panel data evidence from fifty eight countries

The aim of this paper is to provide new empirical evidence on the impact of economic growth and energy use on carbon emissions (CO2 emissions) for fifty eight countries over the period 1990-2012 by using a panel data model. We also apply this model in order to implement three regional sub-groups; European and North Asian region, Latin American and Caribbean region, and the Middle Eastern, North African and sub-Saharan region. The results revealed that the energy use has a positive impact on the carbon dioxide emissions for all the panels. The impact of economic growth on the environment has received increased attention as global warming and other environmental problems become more serious. Indeed, the per capita GDP has a positive and statistically significant impact on carbon for the global panel, for the Europe and North Asia, and for the Middle Eastern, North Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, our empirical results indicate the presence of an inverted U-shaped curve between carbon dioxide emissions and GDP per capita.