Comparative Analysis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and Renewable Energy Kuznets Curve (RKC) Hypotheses in Iran

Document Type : Scientific paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor. Department of Economics. Faculty of Literature and Humanities. University of Ilam. Ilam. Iran

2 Master's student in Economics, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

10.22080/mrl.2025.30134.2202

Abstract

In today's world, considering environmental challenges and the need to transition toward clean and renewable energy sources, analyzing the relationship between economic development and environmental pollution is of particular importance. This study conducts a comparative analysis of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) and the Renewable Energy Kuznets Curve (RKC) hypotheses in Iran using two separate models, based on data from 1965 to 2023 and the Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) method. The results show that per capita income and fossil fuel consumption have a significant positive impact on carbon dioxide emissions, and as per capita income increases, pollution levels gradually begin to decline. Furthermore, in the RKC model, it was observed that renewable energy consumption decreases in the early stages of economic growth but significantly increases in the later stages as income rises. Therefore, both the inverted U-shaped EKC and the U-shaped RKC hypotheses are confirmed for Iran. The EKC threshold in Iran is $707, while the RKC threshold is $3,719. This indicates that the EKC hypothesis materializes earlier than the RKC hypothesis, meaning that positive changes in pollution reduction and the use of cleaner energy sources begin in the early stages of Iran’s economic growth. Based on these findings, it is recommended to focus on the development of clean technologies and improving per capita income in the early stages of economic growth to accelerate the reduction of pollution and the adoption of renewable energy sources.

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Macroeconomics Research Letter
Volume 20, Issue 48
December 2025

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History

  • Receive Date: 25 September 2025
  • Revise Date: 09 November 2025
  • Accept Date: 14 November 2025

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