Dynamic nexus among CO2 emissions, fossil energy usage and Human Development in East Africa: New insight from novel DARDL simulations

This study investigates the relationship among CO2 emissions, human development index, and fossil energy usage. Essentially, the study was informed by the Sustainable Development Goal 7, which stipulates universal access to renewable and contemporary energy technologies. We employed the novel dynamic autoregressive-distributed lag (DARDL) simulations with a dataset spanning between 1980 and 2020 from East Africa Community (EAC). The study revealed that human development, access to electricity, and trade have a strong correlation with carbon emissions in the long term, whereas fossil energy usage and economic growth have a negative connection with carbon emission. On the other hand, in the short run, human development and fossil energy usage have a positive correlation with carbon emission, while economic growth and foreign direct investment have a negative correlation with carbon emission. Thus, policies that are tailored to enhance the political environment in East Africa are crucial to ensuring realistic access to clean and modern electricity. In relation to the environmental policy of the East African Community; this study advocates for measures to increase the availability of less harmful and renewable energy sources, as well as investments in energy-efficient technologies.