The hidden cost of renewable energy: A quantile view for environmental management on critical metals
Mehmet Akif Destek1, Magdalena Radulescu2, Oktay Özkan3
1Department of Economics, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Türkiye; UNEC Research Methods Application Center, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC), Istiqlaliyyat Str. 6, Baku, 1001, Azerbaijan; Department of Economics, Korea University, Seoul 02841, South Korea; Baku Eurasian University, Economic Research Center (BAAU-ERC), Baku, Azerbaijan.
Abstract:
The present state of renewable energy technology is controversial owing to the environmental effects of the metals needed to produce renewable energy. In light of this, this research examines the global environmental effects of using certain metals-such as aluminium, cobalt, copper, nickel, and zinc-necessary for renewable energy. In the process, the quantile-on-quantile ARDL (QQARDL) approach is used to evaluate the historical data set from 1901 to 2023. Long-term increases in metal production in the lower and intermediate quantiles of emission raise the emission level for almost all metals, according to the analyses conducted using the approach developed for this research. However, this impact either diminishes or vanishes in the quantiles of high emissions. Policy recommendations are made to regulate environmental management against the possible emission-increasing effects of critical metals.
