Globalization and GHG Emissions in the EU: Do We Need a New Development Paradigm?

Nela Vlahinić Lenz and Barbara Fajdetić
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Nela Vlahinić Lenz: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka, Ivana Filipovića 4, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
Barbara Fajdetić: Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Rijeka, Ivana Filipovića 4, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 17, 1-18

Abstract: The European Union (EU) has adopted a new development strategy based on “green” growth and announced carbon neutrality by 2050. Still, the EU’s previous development path was mainly based on trade openness and globalization, with positive economic and negative climate impacts. The aim of this paper was to test the hypothesis of globalization-induced carbon emissions in order to evaluate a possible future development path. The Arellano–Bond estimator was employed for dynamic panel analysis in 26 EU countries over the period 2000–2018. A significant and positive relationship was found between economic globalization and passenger mobility and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while environmental taxes can correct the negative climate effect. On the other hand, social and political dimensions of globalization reduce negative climate impacts. To achieve net zero emissions, the EU needs to continue its global climate leadership, extend the use of environmental taxes, and stimulate economic growth based on low-carbon technologies such as hydrogen, energy storage, and CCUS.

Keywords: globalization; GHG emissions; EU; green growth; development path (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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