The Impact Of Renewable And Non-Renewable Energy Consumption On Environmental Pollution: An Application on Turkiye

Abstract

The rapid growth of the global population has increased demand for natural resources, thereby highlighting the growing importance of environmental research. Energy consumption is widely recognized as one of the major drivers of environmental pollution. In this context, the environmental impacts of renewable and non-renewable energy sources have attracted increasing attention in both the academic literature and among policymakers. Accordingly, global efforts to mitigate environmental degradation have increased demand for renewable energy sources and intensified academic research in this field. The primary objective of this study is to empirically examine the relationship between energy consumption and environmental pollution in Türkiye over the period 1994–2023. To investigate the long-run relationship among the variables, the study employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach to cointegration. The empirical findings indicate that an increase in renewable energy consumption significantly reduces environmental pollution, whereas consumption of other energy sources, namely coal, oil, and natural gas, increases environmental pollution. Among these energy sources, coal is found to have the strongest impact on environmental pollution. The findings demonstrate that a shift toward renewable energy sources is of critical importance for achieving environmental sustainability. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the necessity of managing fossil fuel consumption in a controlled manner and gradually reducing its use over time within environmental policies that prioritize environmental protection. Overall, these findings provide important policy implications for policymakers in formulating and implementing strategies aimed at promoting renewable energy sources and mitigating environmental degradation.