Impact of Municipal Waste Recycling and Renewable Energy Consumption on CO 2 Emissions across the European Union (EU) Member Countries

Yilmaz Bayar, Marius Dan Gavriletea, Stefan Sauer and Dragos Paun
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Yilmaz Bayar: Department of Public Finance, Bandirma Onyedi Eylul University, 10200 Bandırma/Balıkesir, Turkey
Marius Dan Gavriletea: Department of Business, Business Faculty, Babes-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Stefan Sauer: FAU/Nuremberg Center of Technology, 90429 Nürnberg, Germany
Dragos Paun: Department of Business, Business Faculty, Babes-Bolyai University, 400084 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: The world population maintains a growing trend and in turn, the amount of municipal waste is also increasing. Rising municipal waste quantity poses a challenge for human beings and the environment, therefore recycling becomes important for environmental sustainability and circular economy. This study explores the effects of municipal waste recycling and renewable energy on the environment sustainability proxied by CO 2 emissions in EU member states over the period from 2004 to 2017 through panel cointegration and causality analyses. Recycling is considered an efficient way to reduce CO 2 emission, but surprisingly our results indicate mixed findings. The causality analysis revealed no significant interaction among recycling rate, renewable energy and CO 2 emissions. However, in the long run, the negative impact of recycling and renewable energy use on CO 2 emissions were revealed but varied among the countries. Results indicate that increasing renewable energy consumption will play a significant role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These findings must raise awareness among policymakers that should focus on the adoption and implementation of different types of sustainable energy policies that can affect directly or indirectly renewable energy sector development.

Keywords: municipal waste recycling; renewable energy; CO 2 emissions; panel cointegration and causality analyses (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

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