Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Effects of Tourism, Economic Growth and Renewable Energy on Carbon Dioxide Emissions

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Strategies in Sustainable Tourism, Economic Growth and Clean Energy

Abstract

This study discusses the relationship between tourism demand and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, as well as the correlation between renewable energy and CO2 emissions. To achieve this, a robust panel methodology is employed for EU-28 countries. First, preliminary descriptive summary statistics and correlation analysis. Second, unit root tests in panel data (Levin et al. in J Econom, 108:1–24, 2002; ADF–Fisher Chi-square, and Phillips–Perron) to establish stationarity traits of the outlined variables Subsequently, we use Pedroni (Rev Econom Stat 83(4):727–731, 2001, Econom Theory 20(03):597–625, 2004), a panel data Random Effects (RE), DOLS (Panel Dynamic Least Squares) and panel Granger causality test, as econometric methodologies for long-run equilibrium relationship and detection of causality flow, respectively. The econometric empirical results confirm that there exists an Inverted-U linkage between economic growth and environmental degradation, which validates the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for EU-28 countries. Furthermore, empirical results show a negative association between tourist arrivals and CO2 emissions, making it possible to infer that the tourism sector accentuates climate change. Regarding renewable energy, the results validate the negative relationship between this variable and carbon dioxide emissions, which is in line with previous studies. This result validates the position of the United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDG’s) of access to clean energy (renewable energy) and mitigation of climate change issues. This empirical study also presents conclusions that are useful for policymakers and stakeholders.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. 1.

    The choice of the data is confined to available of data.

References

  • Acheampong, A. O., Adams, S., & Boateng, E. (2019). Do globalization and renewable energy contribute to carbon emissions mitigation in Sub-Saharan Africa? Science of the Total Environment, 667, 436–446.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams, S., & Nsiah, C. (2019). Reducing carbon dioxide emissions; Does renewable energy matter? Science of the Total Environment, 693(133288), 1–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Al-Mulali, U., Fereidouni, H. G., & Lee, J. Y. M. (2014). Electricity consumption from renewable and non-renewable sources and economic growth: Evidence from Latin American countries. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 30, 290–298.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alshehry, A. S., & Belloumi, M. (2017). Study of the environmental Kuznets Curve for transport carbon dioxide emissions in Saudi Arabia. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 75, 1339–1347.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amiri, A., & Ventelou, B. (2012). Granger causality between total expenditure on health and GDP in OECD: evidence from the Toda-Yamamoto approach. Economic Letters, 116(3), 541–544.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anser, M. K., Yousaf, Z., Nassani, A. A., Abro, M. M. Q., & Zaman, K. (2019). International tourism, social distribution, and environmental Kuznets curve: evidence from a panel of G-7 countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apergis, N., & Payne, J. E. (2010). Renewable energy consumption and growth in Eurasia. Energy Economics, 32, 1392–1397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apergis, N. (2016). Environmental Kuznets curves: New evidence on both panel and country-level CO2 emissions. Energy Economics, 54, 263–271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Araby, L. E., Samak, N., & Ibrahiem, M. D. (2019). The impact of renewable and non-renewable energy on carbon dioxide emission: An empirical analysis for Euro Mediterranean Countries. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 9(6), 103–108.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baek, J. (2015). Environmental Kuznets curve for CO2 emissions: The case of Arctic countries. Energy Economics, 50, 13–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balli, E., Sigeze, C., Manga, M., Birdir, S., & Birdir, K. (2019). The relationship between tourism, CO2 emissions and economic growth: a case of Mediterranean countries. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 24(3), 219–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balogh, J. M., & Jambor, A. (2017). Determinants of CO2 emission: A global evidence. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 75(5), 217–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Driha, O. M., Shahbaz, M., & Sinha, A. (2020a). The effects of tourism and globalization over environmental degradation in developed countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(7), 7130–7144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Driha, O. M., Bekun, F. V., & Adedoyin, F. F. (2020b). The asymmetric impact of air transport on economic growth in Spain: fresh evidence from the tourism-led growth hypothesis. Current Issues in Tourism, 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Gokmenoglu, K. K., Taspinar, N., & Cantos, C. J. M. (2019). An approach to the pollution haven and pollution halo hypotheses in MINT countries. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 23010–23026.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Shahbaz, M., Roubaud, D., & Farhani, S. (2018). How economic growth, renewable electricity and natural resources contribute to CO2 emissions? Energy Policy, 113, 356–367.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becken, S., & Simmons, D. G. (2002). Understanding energy consumption patterns of tourist attractions and activities in New Zealand. Tourism Management, 23(4), 343–354.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becken, S., & Patterson, M. (2006). Measuring national carbon dioxide emissions from tourism as a key step towards achieving sustainable tourism. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 14(4), 323–338.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becken, S., Frampton, C., & Simmons, D. (2001). Energy consumption patterns in the accommodation sector—The New Zealand case. Ecological Economics, 39(3), 371–386.

    Google Scholar 

  • Becken, S., Simmons, D. G., & Frampton, C. (2003). Energy use associated with different travel choices. Tourism Management, 24(3), 267–277.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ben Jebli, M., Ben Youssef, S., & Apergis, N. (2014). The dynamic linkage between CO2 emissions, economic growth, renewable energy consumption, number of tourist arrivals and trade.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bilan, Y., Streimikiene, D., Vasylieva, T., Lyulyov, O., Pimonenko, T., & Pavlyk, A. (2019). Linking between renewable energy, CO2 emissions, and economic growth: Challenges for candidates and potential candidates for the E.U. membership. Sustainability, 11, 1528: 1–16.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blundell, R., & Bond, S. (1998). Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models. Journal of Econometrics Review, 87, 115–143.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brida, J. G., Lanzilotta, B., & Pizzolon, F. (2016). Dynamic relationship between tourism and economic growth in MERCOSUR countries: A nonlinear approach based on asymmetric time series models. Economics Bulletin, 36(2), 879–894.

    Google Scholar 

  • Castro-Nuño, M., Molina-Toucedo, J. A., & Pablo-Romero, M. P. (2013). Tourism and GDP: A meta-analysis of panel data studies. Journal of Travel Research, 52(6), 745–758.

    Google Scholar 

  • Choi, I. (2001). Unit root tests for panel data. Journal of International Money and Finance, 20(2), 249–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corruption perceptions index. https://www.transparency.org/.

  • Dogan, E., Seker, F., & Bulbul, S. (2015). Investigating the impacts of energy consumption, real GDP, tourism and trade on CO2 emissions by accounting for cross-sectional dependence: A panel study of OECD countries. Current Issues in Tourism, 12(2), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, H., & Selden, T. M. (1995). Stoking the fires? CO2 emissions and economic growth. Journal of Public Economics, 57, 85–101.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, A. (2006). Does globalization affect growth? Evidence from a new Index of globalization. Applied Economics, 38(10), 1091–1110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elmi, Z. M., & Sadeghi, S. (2012). Health care expenditures and economic growth in developing countries: panel cointegration and causality. Middle-East Journal of Science Research, 12(1), 88–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esteve, V., & Tamarit, C. (2012). Threshold cointegration and nonlinear adjustment between CO2 and income: The Environmental Kuznets curve in Spain, 1857–2007. Energy Economics, 34, 2148–2156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Etokakpan, M. U., Bekun, F. V., & Abubakar, A. M. (2019). Examining the tourism-led growth hypothesis, agricultural-led growth hypothesis and economic growth in top agricultural producing economies. European Journal of Tourism Research, 21, 132–137.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. (2010). Europe, the world’s No 1 tourist destination a new political framework for tourism in Europe. COM (2010) 352 final. Brussels, Belgium: European Commission.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faustino, H. C., & Leitão, N. C. (2007). Intra-industry trade: A static and dynamic panel data analysis. International Advances in Economic Research, 13(3), 313–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gallego, Á., Serrano, R. M. A., & Casanueva, C. (2019). Dynamic panel data models in tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 22(4), 379–399.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ghosh, S. (2010). Examining carbon emissions economic growth nexus for India: a multivariate cointegration approach. Energy Policy, 38, 2613–3130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gössling, S. (2002). Global environmental consequences of tourism. Global Environmental Change, 12(4), 283–302.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1995). Economic growth and the environment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 110(2), 353–377.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1991). Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement. NBER Working Paper, no. 3914, Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, G. M., & Krueger, A. B. (1993). Environmental impacts of a North American free trade agreement. In: Garber, P. (Ed.), The Mexico-U.S. free trade agreement. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gygli, Savina, Haelg, Florian, Potrafke, Niklas, & Sturm, Jan-Egbert. (2019). The KOF globalisation index – Revisited. Review of International Organizations, 14(3), 543–574.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halicioglu, F. (2009). An econometric study of CO2 emissions, energy consumption, income and foreign trade in Turkey. Energy Policy, 37(3), 1156–1164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harb, G., & Bassil, C. (2018). Gravity analysis of tourism flows and the ‘multilateral resistance to tourism. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(6), 666–678.

    Google Scholar 

  • Im, K. S., Pesaran, M. H., & Shin, Y. (2003). Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels. Journal of Econometrics, 115(1), 53–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Işik, C., Kasımati, E., & Ongan, S. (2017). Analyzing the causalities between economic growth, financial development, international trade, tourism expenditure and/ on the CO2 emissions in Greece. Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning and Policy, 12(7), 665–673.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jebli, M. B., Youssef, S. B., & Apergis, N. (2019). The dynamic linkage between renewable energy, tourism, CO2 emissions, economic growth, foreign direct investment, and trade. Latin American Economic Review, 28(2), 1–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones, C., & Munday, M. (2007). Exploring the environmental consequences of tourism: A satellite account approach. Journal of Travel Research, 46(2), 164–172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katircioglu, S. T. (2014). Testing the tourism-induced EKC hypothesis: The case of Singapore. Economic Modelling, 41(4), 383–391.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khadaroo, J., & Seetanah, B. (2008). The role of transport infrastructure in international tourism development: A gravity model approach. Tourism Management, 29(5), 831–840.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. J., Jung T. Y., & Kang, S. J. (2016). Regional environmental kuznets curves and their turning points for air pollutants in Korea. Korea and the World Economy, 17(3):327–349.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, C. C., & Chang, C. P. (2008). Tourism development and economic growth: A closer look at panels. Tourism Management, 29(1), 180–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lee, J. W., & Brahmasrene, T. (2013). Investigating the influence of tourism on economic growth and carbon emissions: Evidence from panel analysis of the European Union. Tourism Management, 38, 69–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitão, N. C., & Balogh, J. M. (2020). The impact of energy consumption and agricultural production on carbon dioxide emissions in Portugal. AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, 12(1), 49–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitão, N. C. (2015). Energy consumption and foreign direct investment: A panel data analysis for Portugal. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 5(1), 138–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leitão, N. C., & Shahbaz, M. (2013). Carbon dioxide emissions, urbanization and globalization: A dynamic panel data. The Economic Research Guardian, 3(1), 22–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levin, A., Lin, C.-F., & Chu, C.-S. J. (2002). Unit root tests in panel data: Asymptotic and finite-sample properties. Journal of Econometrics, 108, 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lim, J., & Won D. (2019). Impact of CARB’s tailpipe emission standard policy on CO2 reduction among the U.S. States. Sustainability, 11, 1202, 1–15.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, X., Zhang, S., & Bae, J. (2017). The impact of renewable energy and agriculture on carbon dioxide emissions: Investigating the environmental Kuznets curve in four selected ASEAN countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 164, 1239–1247.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malik, S., Chaudhry, I. S., Sheikh, M. R., & Farooqi, F. S. (2010). Tourism, economic growth and current account deficit in Pakistan: Evidence from cointegration and causal analysis. European Journal of Economics, Finance, and Administrative Sciences, 22, 21–31.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikayilov, J. I., Mukhtarov, S., Mammadov, J., & Azizov, M. (2019). Re-evaluating the environmental impacts of tourism: does EKC exist? Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26, 19389–19402.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitra, S. K. (2019). Is tourism‐led growth hypothesis still valid?. International Journal of Tourism Research, 21(5), 615–624.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nepala, R., Irsyad, M. I., & Nepal, S. K. (2019). Tourist arrivals, energy consumption and pollutant emissions in a developing economy–implications for sustainable tourism. Tourism Management, 72, 145–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Och, M. (2017). Empirical investigation of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for nitrous oxide emissions for Mongolia. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 7(1), 117–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olale, E., Ochuoodho, O., Lantz, V., & Armali, J. El. (2018). The environmental Kuznets curve model for greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Journal of Cleaner Production, 184, 859–868.

    Google Scholar 

  • Onafowora, A. O., & Owove, O. (2014). Bounds testing approach to analysis of the environment Kuznets curve hypothesis. Energy Economics, 44, 47–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Özokcu, S., & Özdemir, O. (2017). Economic growth, energy, and environmental Kuznets curve. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 72, 639–647.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paramati, S. R., Alam, M. S., & Lau, C. K. M. (2018). The effect of tourism investment on tourism development and CO2 emissions: empirical evidence from the E.U. nations. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(9):1587–1607.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedroni, P. (1999). Critical values for cointegration tests in heterogeneous panels with multiple regressors. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 61, 653–670.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedroni, P. (2001). Purchasing power parity tests in cointegrated panels. Review of Economics and Statistics, 83(4), 727–731.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pedroni, P. (2004). Panel cointegration: asymptotic and finite sample properties of pooled time series tests with an application to the PPP hypothesis. Econometric Theory, 20(03), 597–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, Z., & Li, Q. W. M. (2020). Spatial characteristics and influencing factors of carbon emissions from energy consumption in China’s transport sector: An empirical analysis based on provincial panel data. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 29(1), 217–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Risso, W. A., Barquet, A., & Brida, J. G. (2010). Causality between economic growth and tourism expansion: empirical evidence from Trentino-Alto Adige. Tourismos: An International Multidisciplinary Journal of Tourism, 5(2):87–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Romero, M. P. P., Cruz, L., & Barata, E. (2017). Testing the transport energy–Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in the E.U. 27 countries. Energy Economics, 62, 257–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Saikkonen, P. (1991). Asymptotically efficient estimation of cointegration regressions. Econometric Theory, 7(1), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salim, R. A., & Rafiq, S. (2012). Why do some emerging economies proactively accelerate the adoption of renewable energy? Energy Economics, 34, 1051–1057.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scott, D., Peeters, P., & Gössling, S. (2010). Can tourism deliver its “aspirational” greenhouse gas emission reduction targets? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18(3), 393–408.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shahbaz, M., Dube, S., Ozturk, I., & Jali, Adbul. (2015). Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Portugal. International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, 5(2), 475–481.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shakouri, B., Yazdi, S. K., & Ghorchebigi, E. (2017). Does tourism development promote CO2 emissions?, Anatolia, 28(3):444–452.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharif, A., Afshan, S., & Nisha, N. (2017). Impact of tourism on CO2 emission: Evidence from Pakistan. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 22(4), 408–421.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solarin, A. S. (2014). Tourism arrivals and macroeconomic determinants of CO2 in Malaysia, Anatolia. An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 25, 228–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soytas, U., & Sari, R. (2009). Energy consumption, economic growth, and carbon emissions: Challenges faced by an E.U. candidate member. Ecological Economics, 68(6):1667–1675.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stock, J. H., & Watson, M. W. (1993). Simple estimator of cointegrating vectors in higher order integrated systems. Econometrica, 61(4), 783–820.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tavares, J. M., & Leitão, N. C. (2017). The determinants of international tourism demand for Brazil. Tourism Economics, 23(4), 834–845.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tiwari, A. (2011). Tourism, exports and FDI as a means of growth: Evidence from four Asian Countries. Romanian Economic Journal, 14(40).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tovar, C., & Lockwood, M. (2008). Social impacts of tourism: An Australian regional case study. International journal of tourism research, 10(4), 365–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nation World Tourism Organization. (2008). Climate change and tourism: Responding to global challenges. UNWTO Spain. (Accessed May 2020).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vasylieva, T., Lyulyov, O., Bilan, Y., & Streimikiene, D. (2019). Sustainable economic development and greenhouse gas emissions: The dynamic impact of renewable energy consumption, GDP, and corruption. Energies, 12(3289), 1–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Y. C. (2011). Health care expenditure and economic growth: Quantile panel-type analysis. Journal of Economic Modelling, 28(4), 1536–1549.

    Google Scholar 

  • WTTC (2016). Travel & tourism: Economic impact 2016. European Union. London, United Kingdom: WTTC.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Tourism Organization. (2018). European union tourism trends, UNWTO, Madrid. https://doi.org/10.18111/9789284419470.

  • Yorucu, V. (2016). Growth impact of CO2 emissions caused by tourist arrivals in Turkey. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaidi, S. A. H., Danish, Hou, & Mirza, F. M. (2018). The role of renewable and non- renewable energy consumption in CO2 emissions: a disaggregate analysis of Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 25, 31616–31629.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zaman, K., Shahbaz, M., Loganathan, N., & Raza, S. A. (2016). Tourism development, energy consumption and environmental Kuznets curve: Trivariate analysis in the panel of developed and developing countries. Tourism Management, 54, 275–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zoundi, Z. (2017). CO2 emissions, renewable energy and the environmental Kuznets curve, a panel cointegration approach. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 72, 1067–1075.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Polytechnic Institute of Santarém, Center for Advanced Studies in Management and Economics, Évora University, Évora, Portugal

    Nuno Carlos Leitão

  2. Center for African and Development Studies, Lisbon University, 1200-781, Lisbon, Portugal

    Nuno Carlos Leitão

  3. Department of Political Economy and Public Finance, Economic and Business Statistics and Economic Policy, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain

    Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente

Authors
  1. Nuno Carlos Leitão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nuno Carlos Leitão .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Castile-La Mancha, Cuenca, Cuenca, Spain

    Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente

  2. University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Oana M. Driha

  3. Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

    Muhammad Shahbaz

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Leitão, N.C., Balsalobre-Lorente, D. (2021). The Effects of Tourism, Economic Growth and Renewable Energy on Carbon Dioxide Emissions. In: Balsalobre-Lorente, D., Driha, O.M., Shahbaz, M. (eds) Strategies in Sustainable Tourism, Economic Growth and Clean Energy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-59675-0_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation