Growth, Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption And Carbon Emissions In Nigeria

Résumé: The causal relationships among economic growth, energy consumption and carbon emissions have attracted much interest in economic literature. The views on the direction of this relationship are divergent and empirical evidences vary, depending on the sources and pattern of energy consumption of the economy examined. Although evidence exists, pointing to the fact that fossil fuel energy has been the major energy source in Nigeria. But the benefit of this energy to economic growth and the environmental hazard associated with the use of this type of energy has not received enough empirical studies in Nigeria. This study therefore examined the causal relationships among economic growth, fossil fuel energy consumption and carbon emissions in Nigeria for the period of 1970 to 2013. The study employed Johansen Cointegration approach to examine the existence of possible long-run relationship among variables and the VAR Granger Causality Test. Estimated results of the study established cointegration among fossil fuel energy consumption, carbon emissions and economic growth, which implies that a long-run relationship exist among the variables. The study however found that this long-run relationship does not translate to causal relationships. On this basis, the study recommended that adequate attention should be given to environmental impacts of fossil fuel energy consumption and that Nigeria should substitute fossil fuel with alternative energy that has less carbon emissions, as the implication of such policy will not affect economic growth in Nigeria.

Publié dans la revue: المجلة المغاربية للإقتصاد و المانجمت