Transport energy consumption and carbon emissions: The role of urbanization towards environment in SAARC region.

Most of the existing literature on environmental assessment has concentrated on the linkages between energy consumption and CO2 emissions, and little attention has been paid to the association between transport energy consumption and CO2 emissions, which cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the present study contributes to the literature on the sustainable transport sector and urban settlements in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries through an analysis of annual data from 1996 to 2015. Two unit root tests revealed mixed orders of integration for all variables. The Kao cointegration test revealed a strong association among the variables. The panel mean group (PMG) estimator confirmed that urbanization and regulatory quality improve air quality in the SAARC region. Gross domestic product (GDP) and the use of transport energy lower air quality. Considering the role of transport energy use in increasing CO2 emissions, this study provides some policy implications for the sustainable transport sector in SAARC countries. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;17:1286-1292. © 2021 SETAC.