Linking Per Capita GDP to Energy Consumption, Ecological Footprint, and Carbon Dioxide Emission in a Developing Economy in the World: The Case of Bangladesh

In developing economies, environmental pressure increases faster than the income does at early stages of economic development and slows down relative to income growth at higher income levels. Bangladesh is a rapidly growing South Asian country with large and increasing population and deteriorating environment. However, the link between its historical per capita GDP and major environmental attributes has not been sufficiently investigated in any literature. This study evaluates the type of relationship between per capita GDP with each of ecological footprint, CO2 emission and energy consumption in Bangladesh- an emerging developing economy in the world. The study used traditional linear, quadratic, and log-models with standard specifications to investigate the aforementioned relationships. The models confirmed that a direct and monotonically increasing relationship exists between per capita GDP and each of the major environmental attributes under study. Thus, the country country’s environment is likely to face increasing pollution threats from potential economic growth in coming days. Stringent environmental policy is likely to help bring a balance between economic development and environmental stability. The study suggests for creation of massive environmental awareness, optimal tapping of natural resources, and adoption of green technologies to ensure sustainable economic growth while maintaining a healthy environment.