Journal Press India^®

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Climate change does not yet feature conspicuously within the environmental or economic policy agenda of developing countries. Yet evidence shows that some of the most unfavourable effects of climate change will be in developing countries, where populations are most susceptible and least likely to easily adapt to climate change. The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis postulates the existence of an “inverted-U” shape relationship between per capita GDP and measures of environmental degradation. Various studies have addressed the direct relationship between environmental degradation and expanding economic activity so far. However, there is a need to establish the sustainable growth pairing with climate impact. This study examines the impact of economic development factors (Output, Energy usage, Direct Foreign Investment) on carbon emissions across BRIC economies and other developing nations, graphically using EKC hypotheses and empirically using GMM. Panel data over period 1991 to 2011 is used. The results validate that economic growth factors are elements of environmental quality in BRIC and developing economies. The paper indicates the relevance of making climate change policies a mainstream goal for global governance through increased carbon spacing.

Keywords

Carbon emissions; Climate; Economic growth; EKC; Environment degradation

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