Renewable energy, forestry, economic growth, and demographic impact on carbon footprint in India: does forestry and renewable energy matter to reduce emission?

The main purpose of this study is to determine the impact of carbon-mitigating factors such as renewable energy and forestry on carbon footprints by considering economic growth and demography. Time series data from 1980 to 2021 has been used to estimate the econometric model, where variables are stationary at level I(0) and at first differences I(1). Key findings of this study indicate that, according to the short-term coefficient of the variable economic growth estimates, a 1% increase in economic growth tends to raise the carbon footprint by 0.36 to 0.33% in the long run. The variable demography has no positive effects on the carbon footprint over the long or short term. Mitigating factor forestry shows that a 1% increase in forestry reduces the carbon footprint by 0.39% in the short run (SR) and 1.84% in the long run (LR). Another mitigating factor for renewable energy (RECN) states that for every 1% increase in renewable energy, the carbon footprint reduces by 0.05 and 0.49% in the long run. The Wald test indicates a long-run relationship among the variables, and the error correction term shows the speed of adjustment at 10.6%. However, this study shows the empirical strategy of mitigating carbon emissions and reducing environmental degradation in India. Key contributions of this study are to improve policies, increase environmental awareness, trade-off between the environment and economic growth by considering environmental facts, and mitigation strategies for pollution.