ACCOUNTING FOR AIR POLLUTION FROM MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN IRAQ

Abstract

The present study attempts to evaluate the economic costs involved in mitigating air pollution in urban areas when deterioration of environmental quality has been a critical factor affecting ecological results and enhancing global warming. This is despite the importance of the topic being poorly debated in recent scholarly literature. This study investigates the impact that investment in environmental capital and physical environmental expenses has on air pollution levels in Iraq. Data for the study are from World Development Indicators and financial reports for the manufacturing sector, running from 1991 to 2022. The approach employed to study the relationship between variables is the Dynamic Independent Distribution Lag. From the results, real capital and environmental costs have a negative relationship with air pollution in Iraq. These results may serve as inputs for policymakers in setting the level of regulations on mitigating air pollution through increased investment in current capital and environmental costs.