The dilemmas of relevance: exploring the role of natural resources and energy consumption in managing climate crisis in Africa

• Published in: Management of environmental quality Vol. 34; no. 5; pp. 1375 - 1390
• Main Authors: Shobande, Olatunji, Asongu, Simplice
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Publishing Limited 18-07-2023; Emerald Group Publishing Limited
• Subjects: Carbon; Circular economy; Climate change; Crises; Economic activity; Economic growth; Emissions; Empirical analysis; Energy consumption; Energy efficiency; Energy usage; Environmental factors; Environmental management; Environmental policy; Environmental quality; Error correction; Hypotheses; Literature reviews; Natural resources; Validity; China; Africa; Carbon emission; Energy consumption; Natural resource; Carbon Kuznets Curve; Climate crisis; Africa
• ISSN: 1477-7835; 1758-6119
• DOI: 10.1108/MEQ-01-2023-0025

PurposeThe study examines the role of natural resources (NRs) and energy consumption in managing the climate crisis in Africa, using annual series data from the World Bank from 1980 to 2019.Design/methodology/approachThe empirical strategy is based on the second-generation panel techniques that account for cross-sectional dependency in the series. Specifically, the empirical evidence is based on the Westerlund (2017) panel cointegration test, panel augmented mean group, common correlated effects mean group and the vector autoregressive (VAR)-vector error correction (VEC) approaches.FindingsEvidence from the panel analysis confirmed the existence of Carbon Kuznets Curve (CKC) U-shaped nexus in Africa, but the country-level results are mixed. Furthermore, results using the VAR-vector correction model indicate possible convergence among the variables across the African countries. NR unidirectionally Granger-causes carbon emissions. The authors suggest the consideration of environmental factors in the utilisation of NRs. Similarly, energy efficiency is crucial to decouple carbon from energy usage.Originality/valueThe study complements the extant literature by assessing the role of NRs and energy consumption in managing climate crisis in Africa.