Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran.
Department of Economics, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan;30(4):10560-10598. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22344-x. Epub 2022 Sep 9.
In recent decades, achieving sustainable economic growth and development through energy efficiency has been a key challenge for Persian Gulf countries. This study presents a two-stage analysis of the energy efficiency and environmental performance of Persian Gulf countries in 2000-2014 using data envelopment analysis and Tobit regression. The hypothesis of this study is that energy efficiency is low in the Persian Gulf countries and these countries have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At first, using data envelopment analysis, total-factor energy efficiency and environmental efficiency of the Persian Gulf countries were measured. Then, using Tobit regression, the effects of GDP per capita, oil price, industrialization degree, population size, paper citation rate, foreign direct investment, and the degree of commercial openness on energy efficiency were investigated. The results of the first stage measurements show that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates had the highest and second highest total-factor energy efficiency, respectively, while Oman and Iran had the lowest, and second lowest, respectively. In terms of environmental performance, the UAE and Qatar proved to have the best and second best performance, respectively, while Iran and Iraq showed the weakest and second weakest performance, respectively. The results of Tobit regression revealed that GDP per capita, oil prices, industrialization degree, and population size had a direct relationship with energy efficiency while the paper citation rate (as an index of science, technology, and innovation) and foreign direct investment had an inverse relationship with energy efficiency. This study shows that the Persian Gulf countries could potentially reduce their energy consumption by up to 18%. Finally, a number of environmentally friendly economic policies and several environmental projects are proposed and it is emphasized that more innovative green technologies should be used to increase energy efficiency and optimize the energy structure to combat climate change.
近几十年来，通过提高能源效率实现可持续的经济增长和发展，一直是海湾国家面临的一个主要挑战。本研究采用数据包络分析和 Tobit 回归方法，对 2000-2014 年期间海湾国家的能源效率和环境绩效进行了两阶段分析。本研究的假设是海湾国家的能源效率较低，这些国家有潜力减少温室气体排放。首先，利用数据包络分析方法，测算了海湾国家的全要素能源效率和环境效率。然后，利用 Tobit 回归方法，考察了人均 GDP、石油价格、工业化程度、人口规模、论文引用率、外国直接投资和商业开放度对能源效率的影响。第一阶段的测量结果表明，沙特阿拉伯和阿拉伯联合酋长国的全要素能源效率最高和第二高，而阿曼和伊朗的全要素能源效率最低和第二低。在环境绩效方面，阿联酋和卡塔尔的表现最好和第二好，而伊朗和伊拉克的表现最差和第二差。Tobit 回归的结果表明，人均 GDP、石油价格、工业化程度和人口规模与能源效率呈直接关系，而论文引用率（作为科学、技术和创新的指标）和外国直接投资与能源效率呈反比关系。本研究表明，海湾国家有可能将能源消耗减少 18%。最后，提出了一系列环保经济政策和若干环境项目，并强调应更多地采用创新性绿色技术来提高能源效率和优化能源结构，以应对气候变化。
