CO₂ emissions convergence among 10 South American countries. A study of Kaya components (1980–2010)

ABSTRACT

This paper analyzes the convergence process in CO₂ emissions per capita among 10 South American countries from 1980 to 2010 based on their Kaya components, namely, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, energy intensity and CO₂ intensity. This work tries to find out whether a set of countries of a given region share common convergence patterns in CO₂ emission per capita and in its driving forces. First, a descriptive statistical analysis is carried out, and then Phillips and Sul methodology is applied to test the existence of convergence clubs in the pathway of evolution of each Kaya component. An analysis of inequality was also performed, considering three exogenous groups of countries. The results show that the region, as a whole, does not present a global convergence pattern regarding CO₂ emissions per capita; however, the evidence suggests the formation of various convergence clubs for each Kaya component and even for the Kaya identity as a whole.

KEYWORDS:

• CO₂ emissions
• convergence
• Kaya identity
• South America

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economia y Competitividad and the European regional development fund (FEDER) under project number FIS2011-28738-C02-02, and by Spanish Consolider-Ingenio 2010 (CPANCSD-2007-00042). This work also has been supported by Escuela Politécnica Nacional, EPN, under project number: PII-DESODEH-012-2015.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. An example is the European Union climate and energy package 2020 that proposes many measures to achieve medium-term objectives in order to reach convergence and to reduce emissions on a long-term horizon [43].

2. PPP: Purchasing power parity. An international dollar has the same purchasing power over GDP as a US dollar has in the United States of America.

3. Note that by construction Kaya identity only provides information on CO₂ emissions coming from the burning of fossil fuels, but does not consider, for instance, CO₂ that comes from agriculture or deforestation.

4. It is considered that all countries tend to converge toward a steady state, but the level of the steady state depends on the culture and preferences of individuals, institutions, and tax and legal systems.

5. Clubs q₁, e₁, i₁ and c₁ have the higher convergence values. Clubs q₂, e₂, i₂ and c₂ have the lower convergence values.