Abstract:

This study investigates the relationship between biomass energy consumption, economic growth, carbon dioxide emissions, and natural resource depletion in G-20 countries from 1992 to 2013. For this purpose, we used panel unit root tests, the panel cointegration test, the panel fully modified OLS (FMOLS) method, and the panel VECM Granger causality method. The results reveal that biomass energy consumption, economic growth, CO2 emissions, and natural resource depletion are cointegrated. In addition, increasing biomass energy consumption leads to increased economic growth. On the other hand, the increase in biomass energy consumption reduces CO2 emissions. Moreover, a unidirectional causality exists from biomass energy consumption to GDP growth, supporting the growth hypothesis. Finally, a bidirectional causal relationship exists between biomass energy consumption and CO2 emissions.

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