The Kyoto Protocol and CO2 emission: is India still hibernating?

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between CO2 emission and its core determinants, namely, economic growth, energy consumption and trade openness in the pre- and post-Kyoto Protocol era in the Indian economy. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the ARDL bounds test to analyze the long-run and short-run empirical relationship between the interested variables for the time period 1971-2013. A dummy variable representing the Kyoto Protocol regime has been included to examine the likely impact of international climate policies (Kyoto Protocol) in controlling and reducing CO2 emission in India. Findings The empirical results indicate the possibility of increase in CO2 emission from India even after the Kyoto Protocol regime. Evidence of inverted U-shaped relationship between CO2 emission and economic growth (EKC hypothesis) has been confirmed. However, compared to increase in CO2 emission, the magnitude of decrease due to improvement in economic growth is relatively lesser. Energy consumption and trade openness are also found to increase CO2 emission. Research limitations/implications The results indicate that there is a lack of commitment on the part of India to curtail CO2 emission, which can be disastrous for future prosperity. Financing the renewable electricity generation, R&D subsidy and tax-free renewable energy seems to be imperative to address this catastrophic problem. Originality/value This study is the first attempt to analyze the impact of international climate policy (Kyoto Protocol) on CO2 emission by incorporating a fixed dummy in the ARDL specifications.