Abstract
Using the QARDL approach and data from January of 2010 to May of 2022, we explore how renewable energy consumption affects CO2 emissions in the USA. Long-term analysis reveals a negative link between these variables, while only lower quantile levels show short-term statistical significance. Integrating technical innovation (measured by patents) in our QARDL model shows substantial reduction in CO2 emissions, with varying effects over time. Interestingly, only renewable energy consumption, not technical innovation, significantly impacts CO2 emissions at lower quantile levels. These findings emphasize the crucial role of renewable energy in reducing both short-term and long-term CO2 emissions and offer policymakers valuable insights for shaping effective energy strategies to combat emissions and promote sustainability in the USA.
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Notes
The quantile autoregressive distributed lag (QARDL) model is particularly suited for studying the complex relationships between technological innovations, CO2 emissions, and renewable energy consumption. Overall, QARDL’s proficiency in handling non-linearity, asymmetry, lagged impacts, and heteroskedasticity, combined with its capability to offer quantile-specific insights while distinguishing between short-run and long-run dynamics, makes it exceptionally suitable for exploring the intricate linkages between technological innovations, CO2 emissions, and renewable energy consumption.
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Tsangyao Chang is responsible for conceptualization, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, and paper submission. Liying Chui is responsible for conceptualization, data, formal analysis, writing — original draft, investigation, and validation. Shu-Hua Chien is responsible for project administration, supervision, validation, and writing original draft. Bruce C. T. Ho is responsible for software, methodology, writing, review, and editing. Kaimin Hsu is responsible for software, methodology, writing, and editing.
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Chui, L., Chang, T., Chien, SH. et al. Renewable energy consumption and CO2 emissions nexus in the USA: the role of technical innovation. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 19458–19477 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32410-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-32410-1