Persistence in Greehouse Gas Emissions: Evidence from European Countries

Current studies on persistence of emissions have generally focused on carbon dioxide without contemplating other emissions. This study's objective is to further add to the existing literature, analyzing the persistence not just of carbon dioxide but of greenhouse gas emissions for EU27 countries. We assess the time trends of series by applying fractional integration methods to per capita greenhouse gases in EU member states to ascertain whether shocks in the series show transitory or permanent impacts. The findings provide proof of significant negative trends in 19 countries along with the EU27 as a whole, and reveal that Lithuania is the only state in which greenhouse gas emissions show a positive trend. Moreover, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Portugal and Romania are the states where the time trend is deemed negligible. While in 9 countries long memory is present with mean reverting shocks, The EU27 as a whole shows only short memory behaviour. Accordingly, the requirements for policy changes within the EU27 is less pressing but there is, to some extent, a need for policy change in Lithuania.