Do Fisheries Production, Renewable Energy, and Economic Growth Affect CO₂ Emissions? Evidence from Indonesia

Abstract

This study aims to examine the impact of blue economy activities, proxied by fisheries production, and on environmental quality, as measured by carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions within the Environemntak Kuzents Curve (EKC) framework in Indonesia, while controlling for the role of fossil and renewable energy, using annual data from 1990 to 2023 sourced from the World Bank. To capture both dynamic and heterogeneous effects, the analysis employs the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL)-bounds testing and quantile regression techniques. The findings denote that fisheries production is negatively associated with CO₂ emissions in both the short and long run. Notably, 1% increase in fisheries production leads to a -0.08% decrease in CO₂ emissions per capita. The quantile regression results further indicate that this beneficial effect is significant, with a relatively stronger marginal effect observed at the lower (0.25) quantile. The EKC hypothesis is confirmed in both the ARDL and quantile regression models, indicating the presence of an inverted U-shaped nexus between income per capita and CO₂ emissions. Renewable energy consumption is negatively linked with CO₂ emissions, whereas fossil fuel consumption is positively associated with per capita CO₂ emissions. In light of these findings, enhancing renewable energy adoption and implementing sustainable fisheries practices are pivotal policy measures for preserving the environmental benefits of fisheries production and ensuring long-term sustainability.