Comparative Comparison of the Effects of Shocks in Energy Consumption on CO2 Emissions and Economic Growth in Iran and Selected MENA Countries

Planning and policy making in the field of economic growth as one of the major macroeconomic goals requires special attention to the energy sector, the environment and its relation to production. Hence, in this paper, the effects of energy consumption shocks on carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth in selected countries of the MENA have been studied using the PVAR approach as well as Iran using the VAR method, and the results indicate that the energy shocks would initially lead to a relatively high increase and then a decrease in per capita GDP in the selected countries. The energy shock also initially increased carbon dioxide emissions and subsequently reduced pollution in subsequent periods and will move to the balance in long-term; also, in the Iranian economy, a shock to energy consumption first begans to sharply increase in economic growth after four periods, and eventually returns to a long-term equilibrium. Eventually, with a shock in total energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions are mildly increased and then begin to decrease from the third period. Total energy consumption, foreign direct investment, labor force, and capital stock have a direct and significant relationship with economic growth, but carbon dioxide emissions have a significant negative relationship in Iran's economy.