This study examines the interrelationships between economic growth, renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investment (FDI), trade openness, and CO₂ emissions in Azerbaijan, contributing to the country’s green-growth and sustainable development objectives.
Using annual data from 1993–2024 obtained from the World Bank World Development Indicators, the study applies the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach to assess short- and long-run relationships.
GDP has no statistically significant long-run effect on CO₂ emissions. Renewable energy consumption and FDI are negatively associated with emissions in the long run, although their effects are marginally significant at the 10% level. Trade openness significantly increases emissions in both the short and long run, while renewable energy significantly reduces emissions in the short run.
The study provides Azerbaijan-specific evidence on the role of renewable energy and international economic integration in low-carbon development.
The findings support renewable energy investment and policies promoting cleaner trade and sustainable economic diversification.
