Analyzing the role of governance in CO₂ emissions mitigation: The BRICS experience

The linkage between economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions has been quantified from both a theoretical perspective and an empirical perspective. However, these studies did not address the role of governance in environmental quality explicitly. Therefore, the current study examines the behavior of governance in CO₂ emissions within the framework of the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis for panel data from 1996 to 2017 for BRICS countries. The study employs Westerlund panel cointegration for investigation of cointegration among study's variables. The long-run panel data estimation methods those eliminate dependencies across countries, heteroscedasticity, and spatial and serial dependency issues are used. To summarize the finding, governance has negative and statistically significant effects on CO₂ emissions, help to form the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and reduces CO₂ emissions in the BRICS countries.