Investigating the STIRPAT with fossil fuel, renewable energy, nuclear energy, research and development for 30 European countries: Fresh panel evidence

Abstract

In the European Union (EU), most countries are developed and economic activities are climbing. Because of that, CO2 emissions in this area are rising. The EU must find ways to reduce pollution before it is too late to ensure long-term sustainable growth. The study applies the STIRPAT model to check the impact of population, income, renewable energy, nuclear energy, and research and development on the environment. A newly developed Cross Section Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) technique is used to investigate annual time series data from 1990 to 2021 for 30 European countries with slope heterogeneity and cross-sectional dependence. According to the study's findings, fossil fuels and the population contribute to environmental pollution. On the other hand, increasing income and the use of renewable and nuclear energy can reduce long-term pollution. Similarly, research and development also help to reduce environmental degradation. The research shows that if the EU wants to stop the environment from getting worse, renewable energy is a must. It also shows that rising national wealth alone won't be enough to meet environmental needs.