DO INTERNATIONAL TOURISM, STRUCTURAL CHANGES, TRADE OPENNESS, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH MATTER IN DETERMINING CO2 EMISSIONS IN PAKISTAN?

The present study investigates the role of international tourist arrivals, structural change, consumption of energy, international trade, and economic growth on CO2 emissions in Pakistan over a period of 1980-2017. The study employed ARDL model, which revealed that there is a strong positive long-run association between CO2 emission and its determinants except for structural changes and trade that have no significant impact on CO2 emissions. Results reveal that tourism activities in Pakistan are environment friendly and it can add to preserve the scenic areas and major visitors' spots in the country to attract more visitors to increase the revenue of the country. The study further applied Granger causality test and ratifies unidirectional causality from structural change, international tourist arrivals, and consumption of energy towards CO2 except front international trade. Moreover, this study employed DOLS technique to get long-run robust estimates.