Abstract:
Today, air pollution has become one of the main management challenges in different countries of the world, in such a way that countries, in addition to internal policies and measures, organize pollution in the field of International also follow. Undoubtedly, the production and increase of pollution, It is the result of the economic growth of countries. This problem can be expressed in the topic of environmental economics, in the form of the Kuznets environmental curve, in which the process of environmental degradation is explained according to the nature and different stages of economic growth. In this study, the effect of economic growth on the emission of greenhouse gases and air pollution in selected MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa) was investigated using the panel data method and annual data from 1985-2009. For this purpose, the effect of real gross domestic product per capita, energy consumption per capita, the share of the added value of the industrial sector in real GDP and the added value of factory production per capita on the per capita emission of carbon dioxide gas (as the most important greenhouse gas) was estimated. The results indicate the existence of an N-shaped relationship between the real gross domestic product per capita and the amount of carbon dioxide emissions per capita, confirming Kuznets's environmental theory in these countries. Also, the evidence shows that the variables of energy consumption per capita, the share of the added value of the industrial sector in real GDP and the added value of factory production have a positive effect on the per capita emission of carbon dioxide in these countries.
Key words: Environmental pollution, economic growth, tabular data, EKC curve, greenhouse gases, MENA countries
Chapter 1
Research overview
1-1- Introduction
In recent decades, environmental issues, especially pollution, have been noticed at the international level. The beginning of the wave of public attention to environmental issues took place during the 1960s, and the main focus of these attentions was on industrial pollution due to the increasing growth of industrial economies. In fact, at the same time that the main goal of many economic policies is to achieve a higher level of economic growth, environmental risks caused by economic activities have become a controversial issue. Considering this issue, some environmentalists have opposed free trade and economic growth from the point of view of market failure. According to this point of view, because the market fails to support the environmental values, government intervention becomes necessary. But others believe that economic growth is necessary to achieve a healthier environment and eradicate poverty. In order to prove this issue, they state that as countries or regions become richer, citizens demand more attention to the non-economic aspects of their living conditions. Rich countries want cleaner urban air and cleaner riverbanks, and they also demand stricter environmental standards and stronger environmental legal incentives than middle- and low-income countries. In this way, the issue of conflict between economic growth and environmental quality has gradually become one of the topics discussed in the field of environmental economics. Also, regarding pollution, it should be said that based on a classification, there are two types of pollution: Flow pollution and storage pollution. Stream pollution is a type of pollution that is more manageable and relatively easy to measure, such as smoke, dust, noise, pollution from SO2 and river pollution that are mainly produced by local industries. Although stream pollution is destructive, it disappears over time. Damage functions in most environmental books are related to this type of pollution, and government agencies also deal with it. Today, it is the pollution of the warehouse that is more attention. a type of pollution that accumulates in the environment over time and is not detected until it reaches a critical level; such as pollution from CO2 and urban waste. This study seeks to know the factors affecting the pollution index, which will be reviewed in this chapter. 1-2- Statement of the problem. During the past two decades until today, the dangers and damages of environmental destruction have become more visible. This destruction is caused by the combination of factors such as population growth, economic growth, and production-industrial activities.The problem is that today's world is witnessing an increase in environmental pollution with economic growth and development.
If the amount of these outputs is not controlled and is disproportionate, the loss from undesirable outputs will be greater than the benefits of desirable products; In such a way that the expenses caused by the damage caused to the environment create irreparable damages and make sustainable development face a serious risk. Also, this issue applies to all countries, especially developing countries.
With a study, we want to find out what to do so that pollution does not increase with increasing growth and economic development, or at least increases with a decreasing slope. Until today, the researches conducted have mostly dealt with the issue of economic growth and pollution in general and at the macro level, because this issue is more important in the macro dimension. Different countries want balanced economic growth and sustainable development, which requires proper planning to achieve high economic growth with the least negative environmental effects. If the production takes place without considering the negative environmental effects, it will definitely have irreparable effects and consequences. Therefore, in order to gain more knowledge and awareness of this phenomenon, as well as correct and better planning in the direction of balanced and reasonable growth, researchers have conducted many theoretical and experimental studies in this field, and various theories have been presented, among which the Kuznets environmental curve can be mentioned. According to this theory, in the initial stage of growth and development (at this stage, income and growth levels are low), with the increase in per capita income, the amount of environmental destruction also increases; This increasing process of economic growth continues along with the increase in destruction and environmental damage until it reaches its peak after a while, then if the increase in economic growth continues, then not only will the negative environmental effects not increase, but it will decrease drastically.
According to the environmental hypothesis of Kuznets, there is an inverted U relationship between the level of development of societies and the amount of environmental pollution. Air pollution is one of the environmental problems that has become a serious danger to mankind in recent years, along with the development of societies, industrialization and the growth of technology. Studies on regional and local pollutant gases prove an inverted U relationship between pollution per capita and GDP per capita; But in the case of global polluting gases such as CO2, the results of the investigations are different.
In short, the reasons and mechanisms for reducing pollutant emissions due to economic growth and industrial development (Kuznets environmental curve theory) can be stated in the following three formats:
A: The quality and improvement of the environment is considered a luxury commodity from the point of view of microeconomics, therefore it is in demand at high income levels and pollutant emissions decrease with increasing income levels. A service leads to less pollution. C: Improvement in industrial production techniques brings high economic growth and less pollution. In this thesis, the relationship between carbon dioxide emissions per capita and GDP per capita is investigated using panel data in the format of the Kuznets hypothesis, for selected MENA countries (Middle East and North Africa)[1].
Considering the significant importance of economic growth and its effect on the environmental pollution of countries, the need to investigate this issue is felt. The data is also considered from MENA countries. For the reason that these countries are economically close to each other, they have common geographical borders with each other, and our country, Iran, is also considered as one of the countries in this region.
In fact, the research seeks to answer the question:
Has the GDP per capita in the selected countries of the MENA region been effective on the environment?
Is the hypothesis of the Kuznets environmental curve true for the selected countries of the MENA region?
1-3- Research Hypotheses
GDP per capita does not cause environmental pollution.
The environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis [2] is not established for the selected countries of the MENA region.
1-4- Research objectives
1) To identify the effect of economic growth on the environment in the selected countries of the MENA region.
2) To investigate the establishment of the EKC hypothesis for the selected countries of the MENA region.