Energy Consumption and Environmental Degradation in Iraq: The Role of Renewables, Electricity, Fossil Fuels, and Natural Resources
Keywords:
Environmental degradation, Fossil fuel, Renewable energy consumption, Natural resources, Electrical energy, IraqAbstract
The present research explores the impact of various factors, including electrical energy consumption, fossil fuel energy, renewable energy consumption, and natural resource sufficiency, on environmental degradation in Iraq, using data from the World Development Indicator database from 2000 to 2021. The study utilizes the Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) method to analyze the relationship among variables and diagnostic testing for heteroskedasticity and serial correlation. The results show that electrical energy consumption positively and significantly impacts environmental degradation, while natural resource sufficiency negatively influences environmental degradation. Moreover, the study examines the moderating effect of natural resource sufficiency, revealing its significant influence on the linakge between renewable energy consumption and environmental degradation. However, no significant moderating effect is observed for electrical and fossil fuel energy consumption. The research sheds light on the importance of energy consumption and natural resources when addressing environmental issues.