The Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption on Economic Growth: Evidence from Countries along the Belt and Road

Hongwen Jia, Shugang Fan and Miao Xia ()
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Hongwen Jia: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Shugang Fan: School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Miao Xia: School of Marxism, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-11

Abstract: To mitigate the adverse effects of climate change, the structure of global energy consumption has changed, and renewable energy consumption has increased rapidly, which may have a new impact on sustainable economic development. Against this backdrop, this paper investigates the direct and indirect effects of renewable energy consumption on economic growth, utilizing panel data from 90 countries along the Belt and Road between 2000 and 2019. Employing Granger causality tests and mediating effect models, we detect a bidirectional causal relationship between renewable energy consumption and economic growth, further affirming the feedback hypothesis. Our findings show that renewable energy consumption directly contributes to economic growth. Additionally, we found that renewable energy consumption has an indirect influence on economic growth via its impact on gross capital formation and trade. Drawing on these findings, we offer practical recommendations for the Belt and Road countries to implement appropriate countermeasures.

Keywords: renewable energy consumption; economic growth; One Belt One Road (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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