Does Energy Consumption Impact Sustainable Development in Nigeria?

Abstract

This study examined the sustainable development implications for energy consumption in Nigeria spanning from 1986 to 2022 using the Fully Modified
Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) technique. The estimated FMOLS results revealed that petroleum resource consumption has an adverse and statistically
non-significant impact on sustainability in Nigeria as a positive relationship means that petroleum consumption increases carbon emission and
unsustainability in Nigeria. Further, the study revealed that electricity consumption and sustainable development are negatively and significantly
related. This implies that the consumption of fossil fuel-related energy like petroleum leads to increased environmental degradation which tends to
jeopardize the chances of the future generation from benefiting from such resource rent. This situation is seen as a lack of sustainable development. The
result also showed that biomass consumption positively and significantly impacts sustainable development in Nigeria. This implies that the consumption
of renewable resources like biomass is environmentally friendly and sustainability-enhancing. Thus, the study recommended among others that the
government should enact energy-efficient policies such as carbon tax or emissions trading, fuel efficiency standards for vehicles, Electric vehicle
incentives, energy efficiency tax credits, and others to curb the emission of carbon monoxide.