Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Cleaner Production, cilt.520, 2025 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
Addressing climate change is central to modern policy debates, and transforming the energy structure is considered one of the top priorities for countries seeking to halt global warming. Thus, clean energy investments have gained significant importance, yet there is a crucial gap in understanding the environmental consequences of renewable energy investments. This study aims to fill this gap by examining the impact of renewable energy investments on sustainable development, measured by load capacity factor, in leading European Union countries, namely France, Germany, and Italy. The period of study spans from 2004 M1–2020 M6. The Quantile-on-Quantile regression method is employed to capture non-linearities and uncover the quantile-based relationship between variables. Quantile Regression and Cross-Quantilogram methods are also used to check for robustness. Empirical results reveal that renewable energy investments and load capacity factor data have non-linear characteristics. Quantile on Quantile Regression results show that renewable energy investments positively impact sustainable development in France, while they have a limited and fluctuating positive impact on sustainable development in Germany. Besides, renewable energy investments have a heterogeneous impact on sustainable development in Italy, yet there is a risk of reversing their impact at higher quantiles. The Quantile Regression and Cross-Quantilogram results significantly confirm the Quantile-on-Quantile Regression results, making the obtained findings robust and reliable. Therefore, policymakers in France may not be concerned about the environmental consequences of renewable energy investments. Besides, policymakers in Germany and Italy should focus on controlling the environmental consequences of renewable energy investments.