SPATIAL CONVERGENCE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: THE IMPACT OF EU ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES AND REGIONAL DYNAMICS

8. Uluslararası Tarım, Çevre ve Sağlık Kongresi, Aydın, Türkiye, 22 - 24 Mayıs 2025, ss.46, (Özet Bildiri)

This paper examines the impact of environmental policies on the convergence

of renewable energy consumption (REC) across European Union (EU) member countries over

the period 1995-2021. Given that the global and local Moran’s I indices reveal a significant

positive spatial correlation in REC across EU member countries during the sample period,

spatial econometric models, such as the Spatial Autoregressive Model (SAR), the Spatial Error

Model (SEM), and the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM), are employed to analyze both absolute

and conditional spatial β-convergence. The results of the absolute spatial β-convergence test

indicate that there is spatial β-convergence in REC across all EU countries, as observed in the

SAR, SEM, and SDM models. Furthermore, the conditional spatial β-convergence analysis

indicates that while environmental taxes accelerate the speed of spatial convergence,

environmental taxes in neighboring countries have no effect on domestic REC in EU countries.

This result suggests that the adoption of more regional or geographically tailored tax systems,

through adjustments in tax structures, may increase REC and its speed of convergence. The

results also indicate that CO2 emissions increase the speed of convergence, while GDP and

Human Development Index have no significant direct effect. Overall, the results suggest that

spatial dynamics, shaped by the policies and socio-economic factors of neighboring countries,

play a crucial role in the convergence of REC across the EU. This finding highlights the

importance of integrating spatial interdependencies into policy analysis and the development of

strategies to promote renewable energy in different regions.