Revisit coal consumption, CO2 emissions and economic growth nexus in China and India using a newly developed bootstrap ARDL bound test

Abstract

This study revisits coal consumption, CO2 emissions and economic growth nexus for both China and India using a newly developed Bootstrap ARDL model over the period of 1969–2015. Empirical results indicate no long-run relationship among these three variables for both China and India, and Granger causality test based on Bootstrap ARDL model indicates a feedback between coal consumption and economic growth, between economic growth and CO2 emissions and between coal consumption and CO2 emissions in China. However, we find a one-way Granger causality running from coal consumption to economic growth and the feedback hypothesis is confirmed between economic growth and CO2 emissions and between coal consumption and CO2 emissions in India. The coefficients signal that coal consumption is an important factor towards the promotion economic growth in both China and India. For China, higher economic growth reduces CO2 emissions, while for India, it further increases CO2 emissions. Our empirical results have important policy implications for the government conducting effective energy polices to promote economic growth in both China and India.