CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ECOWAS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS USING THE KUZNETS ENVIRONMENTAL CURVE APPROACH

Abstract

The Kuznets environmental curve establishes an inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income and carbon emissions. This study conducts a comparative analysis of ECOWAS countries over the period 1980-2018 by using the Kuznets environmental curve approach. The empirical results obtained from a descriptive analysis of data and a vector model of the environmental curve of ECOWAS countries generally show the existence of a long-term U- shaped relationship, thus invalidating the hypothesis of inverted U-shaped curve of Kuznets. More particularly, for poor ECOWAS countries (Niger, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Togo, Guinea Conakry, Guinea Bissau, and to a lesser extent Benin and Gambia), per capita carbon dioxide emissions decrease when per capita income increases and for countries with higher per capita income (Ghana, Senegal, Cape Verde, Nigeria and Cote d'Ivoire), an improvement in the standard of living leads to an increase in the per capita carbon dioxide emissions. The study suggests, among other things, that a common policy of environmental protection be implemented within ECOWAS.