The impact trilemma of energy prices, taxation, and population on industrial and residential greenhouse gas emissions in
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
The impact trilemma of energy prices, taxation, and population on industrial and residential greenhouse gas emissions in Europe Yaming Zhang1,2,3 · Majed Abbas1
· Yaya Hamadou Koura1,3 · Yanyuan Su1,2,3 · Wasim Iqbal1
Received: 14 July 2020 / Accepted: 24 August 2020 © Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract As a major source of pollution and the cause of climate change, greenhouse gas emissions are attracting the attention of scholars, policymakers, and governors in Europe and the world. This article assesses the impact of population, energy taxes, and energy prices on greenhouse gas emissions from the residential and industrial energy consumption in Europe. The paper establishes a theoretical framework that predicts that rising energy prices and increased energy taxes will reduce residential and industrial GHG emissions. According to this framework, it is expected that the labor force will have an impact on industrial greenhouse gas emissions depending on wages elasticity. Between 2007 and 2017, panel data from 21 European countries were used to test the proposed hypothesis. First, a complete sample test was conducted. The results confirmed the proposed hypothesis. In addition, it was found that the size of the population increased residential greenhouse gas emissions, while the urbanization process reduced these emissions. Next, the sample was divided according to the economic development level. The split sample analysis shows the regional heterogeneity of population factors and energy costs impacts on GHG emissions. Finally, the time-varying coefficient test indicates that during the study period, the negative impact of urbanization has decreased over time, while the positive impact of industrial production on greenhouse gas emissions has increased. We believe this article will contribute to the formulation of environmental policies and provide additional insights for environmentally sustainable development Keywords Energy prices · Energy taxation · Renewable energies · Greenhouse gas emissions · Energy policies
Introduction Climate change and its impact on the environment and human well-being is one of the most challenging issues facing policymakers (Mohsin et al. 2019; Inglesi-Lotz 2016). Therefore, environmental pollution and energy sustainability are the main concerns of the European Union. The European Commission’s 2020 strategy aims to achieve sustainable growth and development by improving energy efficiency, increasing renewable energy consumption, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (Commision 2010). These policies were updated in 2014 when the Commission
Responsible Editor: Nicholas Apergis Majed Abbas
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Extended author information available on the last page of the article.
released the 2030 climate framework (Commision 2014). Compared with the 1990 level, the framework’s goals were revised in 2018 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40%, increase renewable energy consumption’s share of total energy consumption by 32%, and i
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