DOES GREEN INDUSTRIALIZATION MATTER FOR CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION IN AFRICA?

Abstract

This study investigated the role of sustainable green industrialization in mitigating carbon emissions while promoting long-term development in Africa, using panel data from 48 countries covering the period 2000 to 2022. The data were analyzed using Augmented Mean Group (AMG), Common Correlated Effect Mean Group (CCEMG), and Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR), which were second-generation econometric techniques that accounted for cross-sectional dependence and slope heterogeneity across countries. The findings revealed that green industrialization, proxied by renewable energy consumption, significantly reduced CO? emissions across Africa, thereby confirming its crucial role in aligning economic growth with environmental sustainability. In contrast, industrial value added exerted a positive and significant effect on CO? emissions, reflecting the energy-intensive nature of industrial processes in the region. Similarly, foreign direct investment (FDI) was found to contribute to higher emissions, as inflows were often directed towards fossil-fuel-dependent sectors such as oil, gas, and heavy manufacturing. Furthermore, political instability and violence were shown to exacerbate CO? emissions by discouraging renewable energy investments and prolonging reliance on polluting production methods. Based on these findings, the study recommended that African governments should adopt green industrialization as a central pillar of their development agenda, enact robust carbon pricing mechanisms to discourage reliance on fossil fuels, and provide targeted incentives for research, development, and deployment of renewable energy technologies.