Determinants of Renewable Energy Intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Determinants of Renewable Energy Intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Determinants of Renewable Energy Intensity in Sub-Saharan Africa SAMUEL OSEI-GYEBI, Adeola Adenikinju, Oluwatosin Adeniyi, Patricia Ajayi This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9719279/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The devastating consequences of climate change have intensified the global imperative for renewable energy transition, with particular urgency in Africa, where vulnerability to climatic impacts is compounded by persistent poverty and weak institutions. Although existing literature has examined the determinants of renewable energy consumption and energy intensity separately, a gap remains in understanding the drivers of renewable energy intensity (REI) in Africa, how these drivers vary across sub-regions, and how the interaction between income growth and poverty shapes REI. This study employed the Driscoll-Kraay Fixed Effects estimator and the Cross-Sectionally Augmented ARDL (CS-ARDL) technique to analyse data on 30 African countries over the period 1996 to 2021. Findings reveal that renewable energy consumption, foreign direct investment, and GDP growth each exert a positive effect on REI, while headcount poverty and population growth reduce it. Sub-regional heterogeneity in the drivers of REI further suggests that uniform, continent-wide policies to promote renewable energy penetration may yield suboptimal outcomes. Additionally, headcount poverty is found to negatively moderate the effect of GDP growth on REI, stressing the centrality of poverty reduction in renewable energy transition pathways. African policymakers should therefore prioritise targeted investments in poverty reduction alongside renewable energy financing strategies to accelerate the penetration and intensity of renewable energy across the continent. JEL codes : E21, Q41, Q50 Environmental Economics Environmental Policy Other Economics Renewable energy intensity income poverty Africa Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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