THE GLOBALENVIRONMENTAL KUZNETS CURVE AND THE KYOTO PROTOCOL

Over the years environmental issues have been playing a remarkable role in the global debate about the Earth future. Emissions of the "greenhouse effect" gases (GHG) are increasing, in despite of joint efforts to implement international agreements. In this context, this paper is aimed at investigating the Global Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis for a sample of 167 countries over the period 2000-2004, using a fixed effect model with spatial dependence. Another objective of this paper is to evaluate the role of the Kyoto Protocol as a global policy in order to reduce CO2 emissions per capita. To do so, a dummy variable, representing the countries that have ratified the Protocol is introduced into the left hand of regression. Besides, other three variables are inserted into the left hand of regression: the trade intensity, energy consumption per capita and population density. The econometric results, in principle, suggest the existence of an “N” shaped EKC, finding the following "turning points": US$ 13,325.79 and US$ 27,487.56. Another important issue is the negative coefficient, and statistically significant, for the dummy variable for the Kyoto Protocol, showing the potential importance of international agreements for reducing the overall amount of CO2 emission per capita. Therefore, economic growth itself cannot replace multilateral policies that seek to reduce CO2 emissions. This result suggests that multilateral policies can help reduce GHG emissions, but more countries are needed to commit themselves with such a reduction.