Abstract
Developing countries can combat energy poverty by enhancing renewable energy and economic growth with minimal adverse environmental effects. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of energy poverty, renewable energy, economic growth, carbon dioxide emissions, and urbanization (URB) in South Asian countries from 1990 to 2021, focusing on Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. We employed econometric analysis techniques like Panel Pooled Mean Group (PMG)-Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL), Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS), and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares (DOLS) to provide empirical results, as they enable panel data and control for endogeneity. The findings suggested that the fight against energy poverty and the progress of economic growth need not be detrimental to the environment. Our results indicated that authorities can bring about positive change by promoting green sanitation, which involves using renewable energy sources in sanitation systems and combating energy poverty with renewable energy. These findings are significant in understanding the complex interplay between energy poverty, economic growth, and environmental deterioration, and they provide a hopeful basis for developing effective policies to address energy poverty, economic growth, and environmental degradation.
Keywords
Energy poverty, energy resources, environmental degradation, South Asia
Document Type
Journal Article
Date of Publication
1-1-2026
Volume
8
Issue
1
Publication Title
Green Finance
Publisher
American Institute of Mathematical Sciences
School
School of Business and Law
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
First Page
41
Last Page
62
Comments
Rasheed, M., Lean, H. H., & Foo, N. (2026). Energy poverty, economic growth and environmental degradation in South Asia: Do energy resources matter? Green Finance, 8(1), 41–62. https://doi.org/10.3934/GF.2026002