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Energy productivity and environmental deregulation: the case of Greece

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A Correction to this article was published on 04 July 2022

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Abstract

Among the EU countries, Greece relies heavily on coal the most, and it has lagged behind in cutting emissions. Further, following the oil crisis of the 1970s, Greece has strategically invested in lignite. Solid fossil fuels such as lignite are classified as fossil fuels that are detrimental to environmental performance. This continued burning of fossil fuels has emerged as one of the most serious concerns in Greece, even globally. The aim is to capture the effect of energy productivity on carbon dioxide emissions (CO2E) in Greece while controlling trade openness, energy consumption, and economic growth. Toward this end, we employ a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model and other econometric robust techniques. The findings of the study are as follows: (i) trade openness positively impacts carbon emissions growth; (ii) economic growth adds to increased CO2E; (iii) expanding energy productivity is beneficial to the environment as it causes CO2E to decline; and (iv) increase in energy consumptions further results in CO2 cutbacks. The recommendation of our study suggests some innovative policies to counter the detrimental effects of carbon emissions by an increase in energy efficiency for the Greek economy. The study recommends that embracing a low-carbon, resource-efficient, and circular economy is of paramount importance to Greece in order to ensure environmental protection, as well as to boost green growth, create new jobs, and combat unemployment. Greece should ensure that energy efficiency techniques are promoted, and renewable energy sources are expanded in order to increase the options for cleaner alternatives and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thus preserving the environment.

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The data that support the results of this research are accessible from the World Bank, Eurostat, and OECD.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration, European University of Lefke, Lefke, Northern Cyprus, Turkey

    Modupe Oluyemisi Oyebanji

  2. Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, Department of Banking and Finance, European University of Lefke, Lefke, Northern Cyprus, Turkey

    Dervis Kirikkaleli

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  1. Modupe Oluyemisi Oyebanji
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  2. Dervis Kirikkaleli
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Contributions

DK and MOO conducted the investigation and gathered the data. DK wrote the introduction and the literature review, while MOO prepared the methodology and the empirical findings as indicated in this paper. In addition, MOO assisted in the explanation of the results. Finally, as the corresponding author, I confirm that the final version of this paper was reviewed and endorsed by all authors.

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Correspondence to Dervis Kirikkaleli.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Oyebanji, M.O., Kirikkaleli, D. Energy productivity and environmental deregulation: the case of Greece. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 82772–82784 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21590-3

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