Estimating the progress of Pakistan in achieving the SDG7. Vector Autoregression (VAR)-VGETS Approach | 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 Estimating the progress of Pakistan in achieving the SDG7. Vector Autoregression (VAR)-VGETS Approach David Alemzero, Muhammad Haris, Guo Sidai This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9165275/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The aim of this study is to determine the progress made by Pakistan towards SDG 7 and to provide insights on how Pakistan will achieve SDG 7 goals by 2030. We applied Asali [1], vector autoregression (VAR), general-to-specific (GETs) and vector error correction model (VEC) using data between 2001 and 2021. Pakistan is behind on meeting SDG 7 and would have fallen behind on meeting renewable energy targets by 104% by 2030 and on access to clean cooking solutions by 28.5% by 2030. The long-term estimations of GETs model do not derive any significant values, implying Pakistan’s inability to meet SDG7 in 2030. REO shows to be resilient to shocks as it continues to take a growth path, VECM analysis confirms the presence of cointegration, and Wald test confirms the Granger causality between the variables in Pakistan attaining its SDG7. The country lags on the four indicators and will not achieve them by 2030 under the business-as-usual approach. Pakistan needs to institutionalize fiscal instruments to attract private investment and implement emissions trading schemes where the proceeds can be used for green energy projects and discourage polluters from polluting the environment. This will influence the political discourse on Pakistan's progress towards SDG7. · JEL CODES: C32, C87:Q4: Q56:Q58 Pakistan SDG7 Clean cooking Public Private Investment Energy VAR-Vgets Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 11 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 06 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 04 May, 2026 Editor invited by journal 20 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 04 Apr, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 04 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Mar, 2026 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. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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