Modeling the Consumption of Main Fossil Fuels in Greenhouse Gas Emissions in European Countries, Considering Gross Domestic Product and Population

Abstract

Poland ranks among the leading European countries in terms of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Many European countries have higher emissions per capita than the EU average. This research aimed to quantify the complex relationships between the consumption variables of the main fossil fuels, accounting for economic indicators such as population and gross domestic product (GDP) in relation to GHG emissions. This research attempted to find similarities in the group of 16 analyzed European countries. The hypothesis of an inverted U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) was tested. The resulting multiple regression models showed similarities in one group of countries, namely Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and Slovakia, in which most of the variables related to the consumption of fossil fuels, including HC and BC simultaneously, are statistically significant. The HC variable is also significant in Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Finland and Bulgaria, and BC is also significant in Lithuania, Greece and Belgium. Moreover, results from Ireland, the Netherlands, and Belgium indicate a negative impact of population on GHG emissions, and in the case of Germany, the hypothesis of an environmental Kuznets curve can be accepted.