Carbon efficiency and sustainable environment in India: impacts of structural change, renewable energy consumption, fossil fuel efficiency, urbanization, and technological innovation

Destek M. A., PATA U. K.

Environmental Science and Pollution Research, vol.30, no.40, pp.92224-92237, 2023 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 30 Issue: 40
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s11356-023-28641-3
  • Journal Name: Environmental Science and Pollution Research
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, IBZ Online, ABI/INFORM, Aerospace Database, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Aqualine, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, EMBASE, Environment Index, Geobase, MEDLINE, Pollution Abstracts, Veterinary Science Database, Civil Engineering Abstracts
  • Page Numbers: pp.92224-92237
  • Keywords: Carbon efficiency, Fossil fuel efficiency, Renewable energy consumption, Technological innovation, Urbanization
  • Hatay Mustafa Kemal University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Minimizing carbon pollution and fossil fuels is among the most crucial issues in the sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, global environmental concerns have increased since India did not sign the global coal pledge at COP 26. It is therefore a question mark how India will achieve the 2070 carbon-free target with the increasing use of coal and oil. In this contenxt, this work examines the impact of fossil fuel efficiency, structural change, renewable energy consumption, technological innovation, and urbanization on carbon efficiency in India from 1980 to 2019. Employing the dynamic autoregressive distributed lag approach; the study reveals that fossil fuel efficiency, structural change, renewable energy, and technological innovation improve carbon efficiency, while urbanization worsens environmental quality. Based on the study’s findings, the Indian government should invest more and incentivize technological innovation that supports fossil fuel efficiency and renewable energy deployment to achieve the SDGs.