Title: Decarbonising Finland: the impact of renewable energy, environmental trade provisions, and carbon tax policies on CO₂ emissions in Finland (1990-2022)

Authors: Haidy M. Amer

Addresses: Marketing and International Business Department, College of Management and Technology, Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Alexandria, Egypt

Abstract: This research examines the influence of carbon taxes, electricity generated from renewable sources, environmental provisions in trade agreements, economic growth, and population aging growth rate on carbon emissions in Finland from 1990 to 2022, employing the ARDL approach. The findings revealed that while carbon taxes and renewable electricity generation negatively and significantly affect carbon emissions, economic growth positively affects them. Economic growth positively influences short- and long-term emissions, reflecting the challenges of decoupling economic growth from environmental targets. The impacts of population aging and environmental regulations in trade agreements are statistically insignificant, implying their little influence on emission reduction. These findings emphasize the importance of improving and updating the practicality of environmental provisions in regional trade agreements (RTAs) to achieve the desired environmental outcomes. The insights offered can help policymakers achieve economic growth while lowering carbon emissions and ensuring environmental sustainability.

Keywords: economic growth; renewable electricity generation; carbon taxes; carbon emission; environmental provisions; aging population; Finland.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGE.2025.151326

International Journal of Green Economics, 2025 Vol.19 No.4, pp.387 - 408

Received: 04 Feb 2025
Accepted: 24 Jul 2025
Published online: 23 Jan 2026 *

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