Özet:

Countries' main objective is to achieve sustainable economic growth and increase well-being. The attainment of these objectives often depends on industrial production, and the energy used in production often comes from fossil fuels. In this case, climate change, the increase in carbon dioxide emissions due to the increased use of natural resources, air pollution, environmental disasters, etc., raises problems. As a result, the relationship between a country's economic growth and environmental issues remains an important subject in the literature. Given Turkey's growing economy as a developing country, it is important to test the validity of the KCE hypothesis in Turkey over the past few years. The purpose of this study is to test the relationship between environmental pollution and economic growth in Turkey on the basis of the EKC hypothesis. In this study, data from 1990 to 2020 were analyzed using the ARDL test methodology. This study shows a strong positive relationship between long-term and short-term per capita GDP and CO2 emissions. This finding shows that the increase in GDP per head leads to an increase in CO2 emissions and pollution. The lagged values and the results of the Kernel Fit plot confirm the inverted U-shaped picture of Turkey, which supports the EKC hypothesis. In this context, increased investment in alternative and renewable energy sources is of major importance to reduce pollution.

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