Does women’s political participation matter in carbon emissions reduction? A panel data analysis of BRICS-TM

Abstract

Although previous studies have investigated the impact of various determinants on environmental degradation, there has been relatively minimal research on the impact of women’s political participation (WP) on carbon emissions (CO2). Considering the research gaps, we examine the relationship between WP and CO2 as well as their underlying mechanisms in Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Turkey, and Mexico (BRICS-TM), the world’s largest energy consumers and the largest CO2 emitters. For this purpose, the novel Method of Moment Quantile Regression (MMQR) technique is applied as a robust estimation method alongside Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS), Dynamic Ordinary Least Square (DOLS), and Canonical Cointegration Regression (CCR) estimations. The findings indicate that a 1% rise in WP leads to a reduction in CO2 in the FMOLS, DOLS, and CCR techniques by 0.022%, 0.090%, and 0.024%, respectively. Further, the MMQR technique demonstrates that WP reduces to CO2 by 0.071% to 0.122% across all quantiles from the 10th to 90th. The study is also augmented with additional variables, such as renewable energy consumption (REC), economic growth (EG), energy consumption (EC), and trade openness (TO) to enhance the robustness of the CO2 function. EG, EC, and TO exert a positive impact on CO2, while REC reduces it. The results highlight that increasing women’s political participation can pave the way for legislation that particularly supports green economy and sustainable development in BRICS-TM.