Does waste energy usage mitigate the CO₂ emissions? A time-frequency domain analysis

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Energy Economics
• Climate Change Studies

Background:

• Existing research often examines renewable energy's impact on CO2 emissions, but the link between waste energy consumption and CO2 emissions remains under-explored.
• The United States has implemented various energy policies aimed at environmental quality, with their effectiveness requiring detailed analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of waste energy consumption on CO2 emissions in the USA from 1980 to 2018.
• To analyze the lead-lag relationships between waste energy consumption and CO2 emissions across different time frequencies (1-8 year cycles).
• To identify the influence of U.S. energy policies on CO2 emission reductions.

Main Methods:

• Time series analysis of monthly data from 1980:1 to 2018:12 for the USA.
• Examination of the whole sample period and various subsample periods.
• Analysis of high (1-3 year cycles) and low (3-8 year cycles) frequency lead-lag relationships.

Main Results:

• Waste energy consumption demonstrated a significant role in diminishing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, especially in the latter half of the 2010s.
• U.S. energy policy acts implemented after the second half of the 2000s were associated with notable reductions in CO2 emissions.
• Lead-lag analyses revealed dynamic interactions between waste energy consumption and CO2 emissions over different cycles.

Conclusions:

• Waste energy utilization has emerged as a viable strategy for mitigating CO2 emissions in the USA.
• The effectiveness of U.S. energy policies in reducing CO2 emissions is evident, particularly in recent decades.
• Policy recommendations are proposed to further enhance the positive environmental contributions of waste energy consumption.