Sustainable development in India: balancing poverty alleviation, economic growth and reduced carbon emissions

Abstract

India is the world's third largest emitter of climate-changing gases after the USA and China. Rapid economic growth and consumption are driving up production of planet-warming carbon dioxide yet India remains home to one-fifth of the worlds poor. Can India sustain its economic growth in order to alleviate poverty while maintaining a low carbon intensity economy? To answer this, we examine the environment-income relationship in the context of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC). We break down the CO2 emissions variable into energy use and carbon intensity and examine the impact of factors such as population density, urbanisation, openness of the economy, and FDI. Results suggest that India is on the upward sloping portion of the EKC with a turning point of $25,708 per capita. Findings indicate rising growth rates are significantly associated with increased energy use. But energy use is not a significant determinant of growth in the economy.