Investigating Long Run Relationship among Renewable Energy Consumption, Fossil Fuel Energy Consumption and Economic Growth in South Asia with Time Series Analysis

Abstract

Excessive consumption offossil fuel leading to high environmental cost and the possibility of exhaustion of these nonrenewable energies is compelling man to switch to alternative energy sources. These resources include renewable energies that are clean and sustainable. Renewable energy is such energy sources that are naturally replenished and are abundantly available. These energy sources beget from solar energy, wind, geothermal and hydropower plants, etc. Therefore, instead of growing reliance on declining underground resources (fossil fuel resources), it must invest in the development of renewable energy utilization. This paper aims to provide renewable energy consumption patterns, in the long run, incorporating economic growth and fossilfuel energy consumption. In this analysis low; South Asian counties have been taken. These are Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri-Lanka. By analyzing the data from 1990 -2014 with the Johansen Cointegration Method,it is found that renewable energy consumption is negatively related to economic growth (except India), whereas fossil fuel energy consumption is increasing with economic growth in the long nmfor the mentioned South Asian counties. Considering the climate issues, we addressed the opportunities and challenges providing some policy recommendations to increase renewable energy consumption.