A Panel Data Analysis of the Impact of Economic Growth, Population Change, Innovation, and Renewable Energy Policies on the Carbon Footprint in G-7 Countries

ASLAN A., Topcuoglu V.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY ECONOMICS AND ADMINISTRATIVE SCIENCES, cilt.16, sa.1, ss.764-787, 2026 (ESCI)

Özet

This research aims to empirically analyze the environmental sustainability factors in G-7 countries. The study reveals the dynamic interactions between carbon footprint (dependent variable) and economic growth, population change, renewable energy consumption, and technological innovation (independent variables). The study examines the causality relationship between carbon footprint and macroeconomic variables using a panel data set covering the period 1991-2023. In this context, the Panel VAR model and the Granger Causality test are applied to the dataset as methodology. The results of the analysis show that renewable energy consumption and technological innovation have a negative impact on carbon footprint. On the other hand, economic growth and population change have positive effects on carbon footprint. These findings suggest that G-7 countries should prioritize renewable energy transition and R&D investments in their climate policies. Given the increasing importance of carbon footprint, especially with the Paris Climate Agreement, it is thought that this research will contribute to the literature in terms of identifying the underlying causes of the problems and providing a solution. In addition, it is important that the transformation is initiated and supported by the countries with the strongest economies.