Global carbon emissions have increased significantly over the past several decades, and governments and academic scholars throughout the world are keeping an eye on this trend to discover whether there is a link between these economic difficulties and the rise in carbon emissions (Khan and Yahong 2021a). Researching these issues and providing appropriate information to environmental quality protection policymakers is essential. Environmental degradation has long been considered a regular side effect of most economical operations, particularly in developing countries (Baloch and Suad 2018). Faster expansion in the economy leads to a rise in the consumption of fossil fuels for industrialization and supporting economic growth, which has a negative impact on rising nations' environmental quality (Yang et al. 2020). Deteriorating environmental quality is also linked to nations with weak financial institutions. In contrast, countries with strong financial institutions fund green energy and environmentally friendly activities, both of which have the opposite effect. Economic activity may be connected to environmental deterioration, but there are nations in the same stage of growth economically that have varying degrees of environmental quality, which leads me to conclude that this is not the case.
Foreign direct investment (FDI), an expansion in international trade activities, and fossil fuel energy for production boost economic development while worsening environmental quality; The earlier study implies a relationship between wealth distribution and environmental quality (Saelim 2019a). There are several possible explanations for the link between income inequality and environmental degradation or improvement. In Bangladesh, poor individuals will do whatever it takes to get what they need, even if it means causing harm to the environment in the process. As an illustration, abundant natural resources are being utilized to meet their specific requirements (Sarkar et al., 2018). As a result of a lack of educational resources in low-income countries, fossil fuels and other food waste can be used to generate natural resources. Counties and people in these regions are dependent on natural resources because they lack access to modern technologies, renewable energy sources, and environmental protection measures.
Rising carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) are a severe threat to environmental quality and long-term economic growth in many nations. As environmental deterioration worsens, governments worldwide are feeling the heat to reduce CO2e emissions and prioritize economies with low carbon emissions (Mondal et al., 2010a). To control and limit CO2e emissions, several developing and developed countries have come to accords, including the "Paris Agreement," the "Kyoto Protocol," and the "United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change" (UNFCCC) (Khan et al. 2018a). Because so many industrialized and wealthy nations have implemented policies to reduce CO2 emissions, the need for further reductions has become apparent. However, as the quality of the environment has deteriorated as a result of economic activity, concerns about sustainable development have grown in importance. The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) focus on environmental improvement and poverty eradication (Azad et al., 2006). Providing a safe and healthy environment for the human race requires the cooperation of all countries, developed and developing (Baloch et al. 2020a). When it comes to reducing poverty, most less developed countries increase their manufacturing capacity and industrialization level. However, the primary goal of economic activity is to increase economic growth, which leads to a rise in CO2e, which in turn has a negative impact on sustainable development and the well-being of humankind.
As a result, the study believes that in order to close current and future gaps, further study on the impact of poverty on carbon emissions and the role of institutions at the global level is required. A previous study showed the impact on carbon emissions of institutional quality and the regulatory effect of institutions, or that generated an index of institutions and used mixed factors (Grunewald et al. 2017a). There are six metrics that may be used to evaluate institutions: voice and accountability; the rule of law; regulatory excellence; political stability; corruption control; and government efficiency. The state's legal system is represented by the first three indicators, while its political system is represented by the last three. To understand the impact of these six indicators on economic carbon emissions, we combine them with income inequality and other factors. Each environmental quality indicator has a specific function to play. For each of the six variables, we created an indicator of institutional quality and assessed its impact on carbon emissions. The next step is to create an index based on three different legal system measures. Additionally, we create an index based on political indicators. In the model, we also use a variety of indicators specific to each political system.
Sustainable development and economic progress are beneficial to the elimination of severe poverty, particularly if they are not coupled with environmental damage and income disparity. Numerous studies have looked at the relationship between CO2e emissions and wealth disparity and concluded that as the income gap widens, so does the environment's quality. Ultimately, from the perspective of undeveloped nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Mumbai, among others, the link between CO2e and wealth disparity could lessen poverty, but at the same time, it promotes environmental degradation (Khan and Yahong, 2021b). However, in many nations, especially emerging countries like South Asia, including Bangladesh, the link between extreme poverty and income disparity and population, economic growth, and environmental degradation has been disregarded. Research on other environmental concerns has received the bulk of attention in industrialized nations, but empirical research on developing economies like Bangladesh have been few, as evidenced by previous literature reviews.
As opposed to rich countries, Less Developed countries LDCs are less likely to meet the goals of the SDGs. To enhance the living conditions of poverty in Bangladesh, this study mainly focused on the country's economy, which is always striving to expand and develop, minimize inequalities of all kinds (especially income inequality), eradicate severe poverty, and manage population growth. Extreme poverty is one of Bangladesh primary causes of high energy production and consumption, which results in high CO2e emissions. As a result, the country's energy supply is mostly derived from fossil fuel sources (Khan et al., 2018b). Bangladesh's environmental deterioration is on the rise as a result of the country's increased use of energy, which releases poisonous and dangerous pollutants into the atmosphere and water supply.
During this period, Bangladesh saw an average of 24702 kt, with a high of 3509 kg in 1972 and a low of 3509 kg in 2018. The most recent tally is 82760 kt, which was from 2018. According to data from 186 countries, the global average for 2018 was 192252 kt (Rahman, 2021). A country comparator or global rankings can be used to observe how the metric has changed over time (World Bank, 2021). To see changes over time, check out the global rankings for that measure or use the comparison by nation tool. According to the latest recent estimates, Bangladesh is expected to generate 0.64 tons of CO2 per person by 2020. (Nwokoro and Chima, 2017). The average annual growth of 5.48 percent from 1971 to 2020 in Bangladesh's CO2 emissions per person was 0.05 tons of CO2 per person. By 2030, if given $175.9 billion, Bangladesh may reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 21.85 percent if it participates in efforts to keep global warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels and avoid catastrophic climate change (Hoque et al., 2014). At this rate, Bangladesh will create roughly 409.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) by 2030, based on current trends. This may be reduced to 319.94 million tons, according to the most current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) it has made (Uzair Ali et al. 2020).
It was expected that natural gas (63.31 percent), furnace oil (24.72 percent), diesel (4.59 percent), imported 7.63 percent, coal (2.70%), hydro (1.63%), and wind (00.01%) would make up the majority of Bangladesh's 2019 energy supply. According to research, natural gas has been one of Bangladesh's key sources of power in the previous two decades. As a result, the study's goal was to determine the country's energy sector's carbon footprint (Hoque and Das, 2013). Short and long-term pollution cutback techniques (i.e., thermal and solar energy) have been halted for environmental safety, thus incorporating the balance of payment, energy security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability in the overall strategy (Uzair Ali et al. 2020). Power officials are still dealing with the present energy crisis in the form of June 2017's 15,953 MW power outage. This year's annual report from Bangladesh Power Development states that the country suffered a total of 32 mega kilowatt-hours of load shedding (MKWH).
Global Vision 2041 is a five-year plan established by the government with the following objectives: (1) developing a high-income country; (2) exploiting local natural resources (such as gas and coal); (3) developing high-quality power networks; (4) maximizing the use of renewable energy; and (5) stabilizing the supply of energy. A rapid economic expansion, strong financial health, a plentiful supply of energy, and environmental preservation are all components of the strategy. China and India have reached an agreement on two major power projects, both of which are rated at 1320 megawatts (MW). One project will cost $2 billion, while the other will cost $1.49 billion for India's Rampal coal power station (Khan et al. 2018c). Since coal-fired power plants have a large carbon footprint compared to other forms of renewable energy, they are more environmentally costly to construct, and this could result in significant climate change mitigation expenditures (Khan, 2019a). The current condition of electrical construction in Bangladesh does not match the requirements for long-term sustainability or long-term sustainability through the use of renewable energy sources. According to (Wang et al. 2021a), carbon dioxide emissions are responsible for more than half of global warming. According to Islam and Ghani (2018a), the Earth's environmental changes are similar to the dispersal of humans throughout the planet. Bangladesh was unable to demonstrate a significant reduction in CO2 emissions at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-21). Due to the goal of "affordability" in environmental transition, the greatest reduction in CO2 emissions needs donations from the global climate financing business, which necessitate the identification of advanced technology capabilities and their application (Abdullah et al. 2015a). According to Power System Master Plan, Bangladesh had five primary targets to foster industrial development and decided to open 100 Special Economic Zones by 2030 Vision-2040 in order to attract foreign investment, industrial need, and energy capacity, notwithstanding Bangladesh's commitment to COP-21 regarding climate change. As a result of these erratic pledges, the study began investigating Bangladesh's electricity sector's carbon impact.
Accessible renewable energy sources are an important factor in reducing CO2 emissions from Bangladesh. As of right now, Bangladesh is producing an annual average of 216.75 megawatts (MW) from renewable energy sources. There are 27 gas fields in Bangladesh. With GIIP totalling around 11.91 trillion cubic feet, it is possible to generate low-cost energy (Abid, 2016a). Among the "7" gas fields where the GOB has carried out exploration are Bakhrabad, Rashidpur, Jalalabad, Bibiyana, Kailashtila, Habiganj, and Titas. Bangladesh is located in the northern portion of the country, where there are five coal seams tucked between riverbeds (the Padma and Jamuna). Coal reserves in the country are thought to be 3.3 billion metric tons (Mondal et al., 2010b).
As a result of Bangladesh's reliance on insecticides in its agriculture industry, the country's water supplies are being negatively impacted. In contrast, deforestation and rapid urbanization lead to the destruction of our natural resources (Akbar et al. 2018). Bangladesh and other developing countries have seen their CO2e pollution levels rise rapidly in recent years, prompting concerns about the quality of the environment in these areas. Only 0.70 percent of developing countries' CO2e emissions came from Bangladesh in 2013. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), more than as much CO2e was created in 2013 as in the 1990s by Bangladesh, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) (Mondal, 2019). Carbon dioxide emissions have risen dramatically in recent years and now pose the greatest threat to Bangladesh's environment.
Most recent studies have examined not only whether or not population growth has an effect on CO2e emissions but also the effect of different levels of poverty. Using the findings of this study, the study can better understand the role of absolute and relative poverty in causing environmental degradation. Another reason for using population density and other environmental degradation models in this study was to avoid potential specification bias (Koçak and Ulucak, 2019a). New evidence from NARDL cointegration has been incorporated into the current study (Baek and Gweisah 2013). To do so, they will need to examine how changes in the poverty HCR and income inequality, as well as population and GDP per capita (economic growth), affect CO2e emissions. Apart from that, the study incorporated an ARDL model that looks for both long-term symmetry and short-term ties between variables.