The Paris Agreement has mandated drastic decarbonization by developed and developing economies. Many of the top African emitters are now exploring drastic restructuring of the production processes in a way that promotes energy utilization efficiency. This is critical for ensuring an environmentally benign growth process. This study presents a unique addition to the body of existing knowledge by analysing the effect of some indicators of energy efficiency on three indicators of environmental quality among the top five emitters of GHG in Africa. The data were from the World Development Indicators (WDI), covering the 1990–2020 periods for South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Algeria, and Libya. The panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model was used for data analysis. The results showed that all the included series were stationary at first difference. The optimum lag lengths were determined independently in STATA 17 software, and the most frequent lags across the countries were selected. The Hausman test revealed that the pooled mean group (PMG) estimation was preferred to other estimators. The results showed that in the long-run, particulate emission damages, CO 2 intensity, and energy use intensity positively impacted GHG emissions, while GDP per capita and renewable energy utilization produced mixed results. In the short run, the error correction mechanism parameters were all significant (p < 0.01) in Libya for all emission indicators, while Algeria showed significance (p < 0.01) in total GHG and CO 2 per capita models. The coefficient of particulate emission damages significantly reduced (p < 0.01) total GHG emissions in Libya and Nigeria and renewable energy significantly increased (p < 0.01) GHG emissions in South Africa but reduced them in Nigeria. Also, CO 2 emission intensity significantly (p < 0.01) and positively impacted GHG emissions in South Africa, Egypt, Libya, and Nigeria, while electricity power transmission losses increased total emissions and CO 2 emissions in Libya and Algeria. It was concluded that initiatives to reduce GHG emissions should focus on developing countries’ sensitivity to emission damages, and promotion of initiatives for using renewable energies. Also, promotion of energy efficiency across industries offers a prospect for ensuring environmental sustainability.
Source: Oyekale, A.S., 2024. Energy Efficiency and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: A Panel ARDL Model of Top Five Emitters in Africa. Scientific African, p.e02362. Available: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624003041?via%3Dihub

Question 1 (25 Marks)
The ‘Paris Agreement’ has been very significant in shaping global and African policies toward decarbonization. Critically discuss how South Africa is adapting its production processes to meet these requirements.

Question 2 (25 Marks)
Evaluate the short-run and long-run effects of particulate emission damages and renewable energy utilization on GHG emissions as reported in the case study. Why do these factors produce mixed results in different countries?

Question 3 (25 Marks)
There is an established impact of electricity transmission losses on total GHG emissions and CO2 emissions in African countries. Assess several strategies that can be implemented to mitigate these transmission losses to improve environmental outcomes.

Question 4 (25 Marks)

a) Critically discuss the key theoretical frameworks used to study the relationship between energy efficiency, renewable energy, and GHG emissions in the case study.
b) Based on the literature, propose three policy recommendations that can be made for African countries aiming to balance economic growth with GHG emission reductions.

Answers to Above Questions on Paris Agreement

Expert Answer 1: The role and implication of the Paris agreement was significant in sHaping global and African policies towards decarbonisation. With respect to the role of South Africa in adopting its production processes, it is evaluated that the Paris agreement compels both the developed and developing countries to take action against the climate change by undertaking initiatives in the form of reducing greenhouse gas emission, promoting energy efficiency and transitioning to low carbon economies. An analysis of the South African economy indicates that the country is known for being one of the top emitters of carbon gases because of its excessive reliance on coal. As a result, there is a significant amount of restructuring required in order to comply with the Paris agreement with respect to its energy and production systems.
For a detailed understanding of how the Paris agreement necessitated the South African economy to make structural changes, connect with our economics expert in South Africa.

Get Completed Solution