Revisiting The Nexus Between Globalization, Energy Use, And Carbon Emissions: An Empirical Analysis for ASEAN Economies

Abstract

This paper investigates the relationship between non-renewable energy consumption, globalization and carbon emissions under the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, based on the observations of ASEAN economies between 1990 and 2023, which are unbalanced panel data. A panel cointegration analysis is used to explore the time-series dependence of the variables both in the short-term and in the long-term. The findings indicate the support of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis which implies the energy consumption – carbon emission curve is inverted U-shaped. The results also confirm that the use of non-renewable energy sources also has a positive correlation with environmental pressure. Globalization, however, has not reached all countries similarly and appears to influence countries in different ways depending on the differences in countries' economic development, institutional environment, and environmental policies. Therefore, this study proposes that the move towards Renewable Energy (RE) should be a priority in ASEAN economies, and should be done in an environmentally sustainable way.