Carbon footprints and mortality in Africa: The role of renewable energy consumption

The inconclusive evidence regarding the effects of renewable energy consumption (RECONS) on health, coupled with high fossil fuel use and energy poverty in Africa, prompts a re-examination of the influence of carbon emissions (CEMS) and RECONS on health in the region. This study examined the impact of CEMS and RECONS on mortality rate in Africa and also explored the interactive effect of CEMS and RECONS on mortality. This is to establish whether RECONS cushions the effect of CEMS on mortality rate. Data for the study was obtained from the World Bank, Development Indicators and covered the period 2011 to 2023. The data was analyzed using the Prais–Winsten (PW) model and the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) method to account for cross-sectional dependence and heterogeneity common in panel data studies. Several mortality indicators were examined, including female, male, infant, and under-5 mortality rates. The results indicated that mortality rates increased with higher CEMS. Surprisingly, RECONS had a non-negative effect on mortality rates, except for female and male adult mortality, where a negative effect was observed in the FGLS model. The interactive effect of CEMS and RECONS did not show the expected negative impact on mortality rates. However, the positive effect of RECONS on mortality was minimal, suggesting potential health improvements with an increase in RECONS. Promoting RECONS, could therefore reduce mortality rates and induce better health outcome in Africa. This research adds to the few existing studies on the role of renewable energy consumption on environmental quality and health in Africa using more recent econometric techniques than applied in the literature.