Coal’s Dilemma in the Green Economy: Implications for Sustainable Growth

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-758-8_19How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Coal Consumption; Green Economy; Sustainable Growth

Abstract

The global shift towards a green economy presents a significant challenge for developing nations heavily reliant on coal as a primary energy source. While coal consumption drives economic growth, especially in emerging economies, it also poses substantial environmental risks, notably in the form of increased carbon emissions. This study examines the complex relationship between coal consumption, economic growth, and carbon emissions in developing countries using panel data analysis from 2000 to 2020. The findings reveal a positive correlation between coal consumption and GDP growth, highlighting coal’s critical role in sustaining industrialisation and economic expansion. However, the research also underscores the negative environmental impacts, with rising coal use contributing significantly to higher carbon emissions, thus exacerbating the climate crisis. These results point to a paradox for developing nations: while coal supports short-term economic goals, it jeopardises long-term sustainability by undermining global efforts to mitigate climate change. This research advocates for a balanced policy approach, promoting the adoption of renewable energy and clean technologies to reduce dependency on coal, ensuring that economic growth can be achieved without compromising environmental goals. Future research should explore the social and economic impacts of transitioning to cleaner energy in coal-dependent regions.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

Download article (PDF)

TY  - CONF
AU  - Rufiadi Rufiadi
AU  - Fauziah Umar
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/30
TI  - Coal’s Dilemma in the Green Economy: Implications for Sustainable Growth
BT  - Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Accounting, Management, and Economics 2024 (ICAME 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 204
EP  - 213
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-758-8_19
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-758-8_19
ID  - Rufiadi2025
ER  -