Do environmental policy stringency and renewable energy consumption mutually promote each other in emerging economies?

Ümit Yıldız

Abstract


Environmental awareness is one of the main drivers in the fight against climate change and global warming. The importance attached to environmental policies is an indicator of an economy's environmental awareness. Measures taken in environmental policies also affect companies' energy preferences, and it is theoretically argued that stricter environmental policies will promote clean energy sources. This study examines the causal nexus between environmental policy stringency and renewable energy consumption, grounded in the theoretical relationship between stringent environmental policies and clean energy sources. Covering the period 1990 – 2020, the study analyses the environmental policy stringency index (EPS) and the share of renewable energy consumption (REC) in total energy consumption for 10 selected emerging economies using panel data methods. The causal relationships between the variables are examined using the Dumitrescu–Hurlin (2012) panel causality test. The analyses conducted reveal a bidirectional causal relationship between environmental policy stringency and renewable energy consumption in the selected countries during the relevant period. This indicates that the two variables mutually promote each other. The study's findings provide policymakers across all economies, particularly emerging economies, with important insights on environmental policies and the use of clean energy for sustainable green growth.

 

Received: 17 May 2026

Accepted: 05 July 2026

Published: 03 September 2026


Keywords


Environmental Policy Stringency, Renewable Energy Consumption, Panel Causality Analysis

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References


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DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21622/resd.2026.12.2.2161

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Copyright (c) 2026 Ümit Yıldız

Renewable Energy and Sustainable Development

E-ISSN: 2356-8569

P-ISSN: 2356-8518

 

Published by:

Academy Publishing Center (APC)

Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)

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