Nexus between Agricultural Land Use, Economic Growth and N 2 O Emissions in Canada: Is There an Environmental Kuznets Curve?

Azad Haider, Wimal Rankaduwa, Muhammad Iftikhar ul Husnain and Farzana Shaheen
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Azad Haider: Department of Economics, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS B3H 4R2, Canada
Wimal Rankaduwa: Department of Economics, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PE C1A 4P3, Canada
Muhammad Iftikhar ul Husnain: Department of Economics, COMSATS University, Islamabad 45550, Pakistan
Farzana Shaheen: Department of Finance and Treasury Board, Government of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS B3J 1V9, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 14, 1-23

Abstract: The present study investigates the relationship between nitrous oxide emissions and economic growth using the ARDL bounds testing approach in Canada over the period of 1970–2020. The agricultural land use and exports are included in the estimated models as additional control variables. The empirical findings confirmed the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis when total N 2 O emissions are used as a dependent variable in the case of Canada, and similar results are found when we used agricultural induced N 2 O emissions as a dependent variable. The results also indicate that Canada is already in the decreasing segment of the Kuznets curve, and the turning point of GDP per capita for the total N 2 O emissions is $41,718, while for agricultural induced N 2 O emissions, it is $38,825. Our empirical evidence confirms that agricultural land use had a positive and significant effect on total N 2 O emissions, while a negative but insignificant effect in the case of agricultural induced N 2 O emissions. However, Canadian exports are negatively associated with total N 2 O emissions as well as agricultural induced N 2 O emissions, but it requires more stringent laws to curb N 2 O emissions-oriented exports to keep the ecosystem in balance in the short-run and intends to meet its long-term target of reducing emissions as it progresses towards Canada’s 2050 net-zero ambition.

Keywords: N 2 O emissions; agriculture; economic growth; environmental Kuznets curve (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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