Impact of renewable energy and agriculture on CO2 emission in sub-Saharan countries

Abstract

In recent years, countries have paid increased attention to the contentious issue of green energy in both developed and emerging economies. Green energy is another term for renewable energy. It is defined as an energy that is collected by renewable sources such as wind, waves, geothermal, sunshine, heat, and rain, among others, and does the least amount of harm to nature and the environment. This study explores the impact of renewable energy and agriculture on CO2 emission in sub-Saharan countries. Panel data for 1990 to 2021 period for 36 Sub-Saharan African nations is used. The data is from world bank development indicator. Ordinary Least square was used to estimate the random effect model used in the analysis. The findings show that 1 % increase of renewable energy is associated with a 2.25 % decline in CO2 emissions. Furthermore, an increase of 1% in agriculture is associated with an increase of 0.01point percentage of metric tons of CO2 emissions. This current study provides valuable strategy recommendations for policy makers. Major agricultural reforms including the distribution of solar tube wells to small farmers for irrigation, the use of tunnel farming, and organic farming are required in sub-Saharan in order to reduce CO2 emissions from agricultural production.