IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i2p679-d1568650.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Sustainable Development in Africa: A Comprehensive Analysis of GDP, CO 2 Emissions, and Socio-Economic Factors

Author

Listed:
  • Claudien Habimana Simbi

    (College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Fengmei Yao

    (College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Jiahua Zhang

    (Remote Sensing Information and Digital Earth Center, College of Computer Science and Technology, Qingdao University, Qingdao 266071, China
    Key Laboratory of Earth Observation of Hainan Province, Hainan Aerospace Information Research Institute, Sanya 57200, China)

Abstract

The fight against climate change is gaining momentum, with a growing focus on reducing carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions and mitigating environmental impacts. Africa, the continent most vulnerable to global warming, faces unique challenges in this context. This study examines the long-term association among CO 2 emissions, economic growth, and different socio-economic factors in 36 African countries from 1990 to 2020. Employing the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) estimator with Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model, along with U-test and Dumitrescu and Hurlin causality analyses, our study reveals substantial long-term connections amongst CO 2 emissions and factors such as economic growth, trade openness, renewable energy consumption, urbanization, and population dynamics. The findings support the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, indicating that CO 2 emissions initially increase with GDP per capita growth but begin to decline after a turning point at approximately 10,614.75 USD. However, the evidence for this turning point remains weak, suggesting that most African countries have not yet achieved decoupling. Renewable energy consumption and urbanization are negatively associated with CO 2 emissions, while trade openness and GDP per capita show positive correlations. Causality analysis reveals bidirectional relationships among most variables, except for population growth and CO 2 emissions, which may involve other moderating factors. The findings highlight the urgent need for integrated policies that advance sustainable development by focusing on renewable energy adoption, sustainable urbanization, and green growth strategies. Policymakers should prioritize initiatives that harmonize economic growth with environmental sustainability, ensuring a lasting balance between development and ecological preservation across Africa.

Suggested Citation

  • Claudien Habimana Simbi & Fengmei Yao & Jiahua Zhang, 2025. "Sustainable Development in Africa: A Comprehensive Analysis of GDP, CO 2 Emissions, and Socio-Economic Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-22, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:679-:d:1568650
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/679/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/2/679/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sugiawan, Yogi & Kurniawan, Robi & Managi, Shunsuke, 2019. "Are carbon dioxide emission reductions compatible with sustainable well-being?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 242(C), pages 1-11.
    2. Harald Fuhr, 2021. "The rise of the Global South and the rise in carbon emissions," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(11), pages 2724-2746, November.
    3. Tenaw, Dagmawe & Beyene, Abebe D., 2021. "Environmental sustainability and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: A modified EKC hypothesis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    4. Pedroni, Peter, 2004. "Panel Cointegration: Asymptotic And Finite Sample Properties Of Pooled Time Series Tests With An Application To The Ppp Hypothesis," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 20(3), pages 597-625, June.
    5. Grossman, G.M & Krueger, A.B., 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," Papers 158, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    6. Dickey, David A & Fuller, Wayne A, 1981. "Likelihood Ratio Statistics for Autoregressive Time Series with a Unit Root," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(4), pages 1057-1072, June.
    7. Yuan-Ming Lee & Kuan-Min Wang, 2015. "Dynamic heterogeneous panel analysis of the correlation between stock prices and exchange rates," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 749-772, January.
    8. Pesaran, M. Hashem & Smith, Ron, 1995. "Estimating long-run relationships from dynamic heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 79-113, July.
    9. Selden Thomas M. & Song Daqing, 1994. "Environmental Quality and Development: Is There a Kuznets Curve for Air Pollution Emissions?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 147-162, September.
    10. William Brock & M. Taylor, 2010. "The Green Solow model," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 15(2), pages 127-153, June.
    11. Andrew Phiri & Danai Tembo, 2023. "Ecological based environmental Kuznets curve for Africa: Evidence from the fishery sector at continental, regional and country-specific levels," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(1), pages 2225917-222, December.
    12. Panayotou, Theodore, 1997. "Demystifying the environmental Kuznets curve: turning a black box into a policy tool," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 465-484, November.
    13. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    14. Peter Pedroni, 1999. "Critical Values for Cointegration Tests in Heterogeneous Panels with Multiple Regressors," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 61(S1), pages 653-670, November.
    15. Ajanaku, B.A. & Collins, A.R., 2021. "Economic growth and deforestation in African countries: Is the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis applicable?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    16. Kao, Chihwa, 1999. "Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 1-44, May.
    17. Muhammad, Shahbaz & Adebola Solarin, Solarin & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2016. "Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis and the role of globalization in selected African countries," MPRA Paper 69859, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 04 Mar 2016.
    18. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2004. "Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 431-455, August.
    19. Alexis Kayiranga & Zhu Li & Alain Isabwe & Xin Ke & Claudien Habimana Simbi & Binessi Edouard Ifon & Haifeng Yao & Bin Wang & Xin Sun, 2023. "The Effects of Heavy Metal Pollution on Collembola in Urban Soils and Associated Recovery Using Biochar Remediation: A Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-18, February.
    20. Im, Kyung So & Pesaran, M. Hashem & Shin, Yongcheol, 2003. "Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 115(1), pages 53-74, July.
    21. M. Hashem Pesaran, 2015. "Testing Weak Cross-Sectional Dependence in Large Panels," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(6-10), pages 1089-1117, December.
    22. Richard F. J. Haans & Constant Pieters & Zi-Lin He, 2016. "Thinking about U: Theorizing and testing U- and inverted U-shaped relationships in strategy research," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(7), pages 1177-1195, July.
    23. repec:bla:obuest:v:61:y:1999:i:0:p:653-70 is not listed on IDEAS
    24. Mohammed Musah & Yusheng Kong & Isaac Adjei Mensah & Stephen Kwadwo Antwi & Agyemang Andrew Osei & Mary Donkor, 2021. "Modelling the connection between energy consumption and carbon emissions in North Africa: Evidence from panel models robust to cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(10), pages 15225-15239, October.
    25. Levin, Andrew & Lin, Chien-Fu & James Chu, Chia-Shang, 2002. "Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 108(1), pages 1-24, May.
    26. Kijima, Masaaki & Nishide, Katsumasa & Ohyama, Atsuyuki, 2010. "Economic models for the environmental Kuznets curve: A survey," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1187-1201, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abdelaziz Boukhelkhal, 2022. "Energy use, economic growth and CO2 emissions in Africa: does the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis exist? New evidence from heterogeneous panel under cross-sectional dependence," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 13083-13110, November.
    2. Muhammad Bilal Khan & Hummera Saleem & Malik Shahzad Shabbir & Xie Huobao, 2022. "The effects of globalization, energy consumption and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions in South Asian countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 33(1), pages 107-134, February.
    3. Bilgili, Faik & Koçak, Emrah & Bulut, Ümit, 2016. "The dynamic impact of renewable energy consumption on CO2 emissions: A revisited Environmental Kuznets Curve approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 838-845.
    4. Hakimi, Abdelaziz & Hamdi, Helmi, 2016. "Trade liberalization, FDI inflows, environmental quality and economic growth: A comparative analysis between Tunisia and Morocco," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 58(C), pages 1445-1456.
    5. Saia, Artjom, 2023. "Digitalization and CO2 emissions: Dynamics under R&D and technology innovation regimes," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    6. Tenaw, Dagmawe & Beyene, Abebe D., 2021. "Environmental sustainability and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa: A modified EKC hypothesis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    7. Li, Wenqing & Qiao, Yuanbo & Li, Xiao & Wang, Yutao, 2022. "Energy consumption, pollution haven hypothesis, and Environmental Kuznets Curve: Examining the environment–economy link in belt and road initiative countries," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PE).
    8. Donatella Baiardi, 2012. "Innovation and the environmental Kuznets curve: the case of CO, NMVOCs and SOx in the Italian regions," Quaderni di Dipartimento 156, University of Pavia, Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods.
    9. Halkos, George, 2011. "Economy - environment relationship: The case of sulphur emissions," MPRA Paper 45480, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Ozcan, Burcu, 2013. "The nexus between carbon emissions, energy consumption and economic growth in Middle East countries: A panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 1138-1147.
    11. Mitch Kunce, 2023. "Unemployment and Suicide in the United States: The Import of Addressing Cross-Sectional Dependence," Bulletin of Applied Economics, Risk Market Journals, vol. 10(1), pages 1-19.
    12. Hatem M'henni & Mohamed El Hedi Arouri & Adel Ben Youssef & Christophe Rault, 2011. "Income Level and Environmental Quality in The MENA Countries: Discussing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis," Working Papers 587, Economic Research Forum, revised 05 Jan 2011.
    13. Ramesh Chandra Das & Tonmoy Chatterjee & Enrico Ivaldi, 2021. "Sustainability of Urbanization, Non-Agricultural Output and Air Pollution in the World’s Top 20 Polluting Countries," Data, MDPI, vol. 6(6), pages 1-16, June.
    14. George Halkos & Iacovos Psarianos, 2016. "Exploring the effect of including the environment in the neoclassical growth model," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 18(3), pages 339-358, July.
    15. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nasreen, Samia & Ahmed, Khalid & Hammoudeh, Shawkat, 2017. "Trade openness–carbon emissions nexus: The importance of turning points of trade openness for country panels," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 221-232.
    16. Umut Uzar, 2022. "The connection between freedom of the press and environmental quality: An investigation on emerging market countries," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 46(1), pages 21-38, February.
    17. Granda, Catalina & Pérez, Luis Guillermo & Munoz, Juan Carlos, 2008. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve for Water Quality: An Analysis of its Appropriateness Using Unit Root and Cointegration Tests," Revista Lecturas de Economía, Universidad de Antioquia, CIE, November.
    18. Thian-Hee Yiew & Chin-Yu Lee & Lin-Sea Lau, 2021. "Economic growth in selected G20 countries: How do different pollution emissions matter?," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 11451-11474, August.
    19. Myo Myo Htike & Anil Shrestha & Makoto Kakinaka, 2022. "Investigating whether the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis holds for sectoral CO2 emissions: evidence from developed and developing countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(11), pages 12712-12739, November.
    20. Kentaka Aruga, 2019. "Investigating the Energy-Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis for the Asia-Pacific Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-12, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:2:p:679-:d:1568650. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.