The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana

Marfo, Emmanuel Opoku; Kwakwa, Paul Adjei; Aboagye, Solomon; Ansu-Mensah, Peter Article The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana Cogent Economics & Finance Provided in Cooperation with: Taylor & Francis Group Suggested Citation: Marfo, Emmanuel Opoku; Kwakwa, Paul Adjei; Aboagye, Solomon; Ansu-Mensah, Peter (2023) : The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana, Cogent Economics & Finance, ISSN 2332-2039, Taylor & Francis, Abingdon, Vol. 11, Iss. 2, pp. 1-19, https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 This Version is available at: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/304187 Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen: Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden. 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If the documents have been made available under an Open Content Licence (especially Creative Commons Licences), you may exercise further usage rights as specified in the indicated licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Cogent Economics & Finance ISSN: (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: www.tandfonline.com/journals/oaef20 The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana Emmanuel Opoku Marfo, Paul Adjei Kwakwa, Solomon Aboagye & Peter Ansu-Mensah To cite this article: Emmanuel Opoku Marfo, Paul Adjei Kwakwa, Solomon Aboagye & Peter Ansu-Mensah (2023) The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana, Cogent Economics & Finance, 11:2, 2246318, DOI: 10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. Published online: 17 Aug 2023. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 592 View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 3 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=oaef20 GENERAL & APPLIED ECONOMICS | RESEARCH ARTICLE The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana Emmanuel Opoku Marfo 1 , Paul Adjei Kwakwa 1 *, Solomon Aboagye 2 and Peter Ansu-Mensah 3 Abstract: Sustainable environment offers many benefits to individuals and societies. As a result, the agenda to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in order to mitigate climate change remains a global concern. Researchers, policymakers and governments have shown interest in this regard. Empirical studies on the subject matter have been increasing conflicting results and little evidence on the effects of some variables necessitate for further studies. To offer value to the literature, in this study, the effect of female population, urbanization and trade openness on carbon dioxide emission in Ghana is assessed. The study used the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, & Technology (STIRPAT) model as the foundation for empirical modelling. Time-series data spanning from 1971–2021 were used for regression analysis. In both long run and short run periods, urbanization was noted to exert positive influence on carbon dioxide emission while trade openness and female population exert a negative effect on carbon dioxide emission. Thus, growth in urbanization increases carbon dioxide emission while the opposite effect is the case for trade openness and the female population. Findings from the study suggest the need to intensify the empowerment of women, which could be a crucial catalyst for the achievement of Ghana’s nationally determined contributions toward CO 2 reduction. Also, international trade negotiations that promote environmental protection should not be relaxed. Subjects: Energy; Planning; Sustainable Development; Environmental Economics; Economics Keywords: gender; carbon dioxide emissions; trade openness; urbanizations Jel Classification: O24; Q01; Q53; Q54; Q56 1. Introduction The importance of environmental sustainability has become a topical issue over the last decade. Its importance lies in the promotion of human health, ecosystem, food security, and prevention of the depletion of natural resources. As a global concern, attaining sustainable environment requires committed actions from both developed and developing countries to change their way of life (Smith & Smith, 2020; Udeagha & Breitenbach, 2023c; Udeagha & Muchapondwa, 2022). The pace of forest degradation, climate change, and global warming has heightened concerns for Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 1 of 19 Received: 10 March 2023 Accepted: 02 August 2023 *Corresponding author: Paul Adjei Kwakwa, School of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana E-mail: [email protected] Reviewing editor: Rosa Maria Fernandez Martin, Keele Business School, Keele University, United Kingdom Additional information is available at the end of the article © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent. environmental sustainability among world leaders, researchers and practitioners (Alkhidir & Zailani, 2009; Gholami et al., 2016; Wiernik et al., 2013). They are all geared towards achieving a balance among the dimensions of environmental, social, and economic needs (Caniato et al., 2012). Towards the attainment of sustainable environment, there is consensus to reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions like carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), and nitrous oxide (N 2 O) (Kwakwa et al., 2022; Udeagha & Breitenbach, 2023b). The reason is that these gasses trap heat from the sun and warm the earth/increase the temperature of the earth leading to global warming and climate change (Avishek & De, 2020; Karmellos et al., 2016; Wanapat et al., 2015). Among the GHGs, CO 2 emissions form about two-thirds (Lim et al., 2022). Consequently, this has been the focus of many researchers over the years. World Bank (2021) World Development Indicators show that global CO 2 emissions has increased over the past decade. It saw an increment from 23.3 million kt in 2000 to 29.2 million kt in 2009 and by 2018 it had reached 34.0 million kt. Similarly, carbon emissions (metric tons per capita) was 3.81 and reached 4.60 in 2013. Despite the reduction later to 4.43 in 2016, it has seen an upward trend to 4.48 in 2018. It is worth mentioning that the emission levels have not been equal among developed and developing countries. Although African countries are among the least carbon emitting economies, they are the hardest hit when it comes to the effect of climate change (Alhassan et al., 2019, 2022). The focus of researchers has thus been to identifying actors that are responsible for CO 2 emissions. It has been documented that factors related to energy consumption (through burning fossil fuels), solid waste, trees (forests), land use changes, industrial processes, certain chemical reactions (namely, cement manufacturing), and transportation indeed give rise to CO 2 emissions (Ansu-Mensah & Kwakwa, 2022, Churchill et al., 2021; Osobajo et al., 2020; Ansu-Mensah & Murad, 2019). Other factors cited in the literature include the usage of electricity, agricultural production and development, industrialization, population explosion, and chemical application in industries (Jiang et al., 2021; Karmellos et al., 2021; Kwakwa, 2021; Kwakwa et al., 2022; Lin & Agyeman, 2019; Liu et al., 2021). While empirical studies on CO 2 emission abound, urbanization, trade openness, and population effect on CO 2 emissions is gaining attention in recent studies (Aboagye et al., 2020; Ibrahim & Law, 2016; Li et al., 2021; Ngong et al., 2022; Udeagha & Breitenbach, 2023a, 2023d; Udeagha & Ngepah, 2019; Wang et al., 2023, 2023, 2023; Zhang et al., 2017). This may be as a result of increasing pace of population and of urbanization in the world. It is projected that there will be about 8.5 billion people in the world by 2030 and 9.7 billion by 2050 (United Nations, 2022). While over 50% of global population live in urban towns, it is expected that global urban population will hit 6 billion by 2045 (World Bank 2020). These situations are likely to affect the level of CO 2 emissions in many ways. Increased population pressure can increase the loss of forest cover, vehicular traffic congestion, and waste management problems, which can lead to higher CO 2 emissions (Adom et al., 2018). On the other hand, the city compact theory argues that population pressure, especially urbanization, promotes efficiency in the usage of resources and hence can lead to lower CO 2 emissions (Adom et al., 2018). Since the late 1980s, when many developing countries, owing to their subscription to the IMF structural adjustment Programme/Economic recovery programme, were obliged to opened their borders up for more international trade, trade openness has increased among countries. The value of goods and services traded saw a 13% in 2020 and 25% increased to reach $28.5 trillion in 2021 (UNCTAD, 2021). While trade openness can bring about competition to ensure efficiency and hence lower carbon emissions, it can equally trigger acquisition of energy intensive goods which may increase CO 2 emissions (Twerefou et al., 2016). Ghana’s economy has witnessed some dynamics regarding its urbanization, population, and trade openness. Ghana’s population prior to 2010 was mainly rural. However, since 2010, the number of urban population exceeded rural population. Moreover, the number of urban towns has Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 2 of 19 increased since that period (Adams et al., 2016; Asabere et al., 2020; Songsore, 2020; World Bank, 2021). This has the tendency to increase energy consumption and eventually carbon emissions (Koengkan, 2017). Trade openness has become a key feature of the economy and trading activities. Although international trading activities have increased in Ghana (Solarin et al., 2017; World Bank, 2021), it is expected to increase in the coming years, especially now that the country has become the headquarters of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement. Female population continues to dominate male population in Ghana (Tawiah, 2011); however, there has been a reduction in the female share from 51.2% in 2010 to 50.7% in 2021 (Ghana Statistical Service, 2021). The effect of gender on resource conservation has been explored in the literature (Adzawla et al., 2019; Kwakwa et al., 2022; Mensah, 2012; Odonkor & Adams, 2020; Okumah et al., 2021; Kwakwa et al., 2023). However, when it comes to the effect of gender on environmental sustainability, there is scarcity of empirical evidence (Blocker & Eckberg, 1989; Bugri, 2008; Edumadze et al., 2013; Gifford & Nilsson, 2014; McCright, 2010) and CO 2 emissions. It is argued that females are more concerned with the environment and thus protect it more than men (Davis & Fisk, 2014; Hunter et al., 2004; Lee, 2009; Resurrección, 2013; Zelezny et al., 2000). In developing countries, women suffer more when there is a scarcity of resources like water and firewood (Arku, 2015) because of which they are more inclined to engage in activities that would protect the environment than men (Hunter et al., 2004; Okumah et al., 2021). The rising trend of CO 2 emissions in Ghana as observed over the years (World Bank, 2023) is an issue of concern to policymakers and researchers alike. With the goal of attaining low carbon economy in the coming years via cutting emissions by 64 MtCO 2 e by 2030 (UNDP, 2023), appropriate policies, for the Ghanaian economy, emerging from empirical studies are paramount. Following from the above, the main objective of this study is to examine the effect of trade openness, urbanization, and female population on Ghana’s CO 2 emissions. Specifically, the study seeks to assess: (a) the long run effect of trade openness, urbanization, and female population on Ghana’s carbon emission (b) the short run effect of trade openness, urbanization, and female population on Ghana’s carbon emission. The main question asked in this study therefore is how do urbanization, trade openness, and gender affect carbon emission in Ghana? The questions for the specific objectives are: (a) What is the long run effect of trade openness, urbanization, and female population on Ghana’s carbon emission? (b) What is the short run effect of trade openness, urbanization, and female population on Ghana’s carbon emission? The contribution of the paper to the literature comes from the angle that it focuses on the effect that the female population has on CO 2 emissions. Thus, although many studies have analyzed the effect of various population dynamics on CO 2 emissions (Kwakwa et al., 2020; Yakubu et al., 2021), it is difficult to come across any on female populationeffect. In the case of Ghana and African countries, this study adds to the limited research that assesses the effect of urbanization and trade. Despite the current urbanization trends and trade dynamics in Ghana, research on their environmental impact is limited compared to other countries (Li et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2023, 2023, 2023). The remainder of this paper is structured as follows: section 2 is on review of related literature; section 3 presents the methodology, section 4 focuses on the empirical results, section 5 spells out the conclusions and policy implications. Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 3 of 19 2. Literature Review The devastating effects associated with GHGs has necessitated researchers and policy makers to unravel their driving forces for policy formulation (Chhabra et al., 2023; Koengkan et al., 2022). Studies on CO 2 emissions have increased over the recent decades. This shows the extent of attention researchers have given towards the attainment of sustainable environment. It has often been argued that economic activities put pressure on environment, thus degrading its quality (Koengkan et al., 2019). 2.1. Trade openness and carbon emission nexus International trade has been identified as one of the major economic activities that exert influence on the environment (Udeagha & Ngepah, 2022; Wang et al., 2023). This is because international trade relies on energy for the production, exportation, and importation of goods and services (Chhabra et al., 2023). Thus, the expansion of international trade could result in higher CO 2 emissions. Also, trade facilitates households’ accessibility to energy-intensive equipment that may lead to higher pollution. On the other hand, international trade enables countries to import energy-efficient gadgets for households and industrial use, which may lead to lower energy usage and lower CO 2 emissions (Aboagye, 2017; Adom et al., 2018). Empirically, Leitão (2021) found that international trade reduces CO 2 emissions among European Union countries. Earlier Leitão (2021) had found that trade intensity reduces CO 2 emissions in Portugal. Among ASEAN countries, Pata et al. (2023) established among other things that international trade reduces carbon emissions. However, Charfeddine and Khediri (2016) found trade increases CO 2 for the United Arab Emirates. Vural (2020) in a study obtained a positive effect of trade openness on carbon emissions in sub-Saharan Africa. In Ghana, Abokyi et al. (2021) also found that trade openness increases carbon emissions, but Boateng (2020) found the opposite effect. Chhabra et al. (2023) reported that trade openness aggravates carbon emission for the BRICS economies. For the economy of France, Omri and Saadaoui (2023) estimated a positive effect of trade openness on carbon dioxide emissions. A study by Ashraf et al. (2023) which explored effect of trade openness on CO 2 emissions in 75 BRI countries confirmed trade expansion increases carbon emissions. Some studies have also reported on mixed results. For example, Anasari et al., (2020) also found a mixed evidence in their study when trade was found to reduce CO 2 emissions in USA and Saudi Arabia but increases emissions in Canada and Saudi Arabia. In the case of Iran, Australia, and Spain, they found insignificant effects. Kim et al. (2019) analyzed the effect of trade and found conflicting results in the sense that trade with the North is associated with an increase in CO 2 emissions, whereas trade with the South reduces CO 2 emissions. Also, advanced countries trading activities with the South or the North reduces carbon emissions, while developing countries trading with the North leads to higher CO 2 emissions, but the opposite is the case when they trade with the South. 2.2. Urbanization and carbon dioxide emissions nexus Population pressure is noted to affect the level of CO 2 emissions (Liang et al., 2023, 2023). Population growth implies more mouths to feed, people to accommodate, and office spaces to be provided. Consequently, more energy is consumed, which will lead to higher carbon emissions (Lv et al., 2023). Land space also becomes limited due to population pressure. More lands are cleared for farming and accommodation purposes as population of urban towns increases, which reduces forest cover and thereby increases CO 2 emissions (Kwakwa et al., 2022). However, some argue that population pressure like urbanization which is associated with conglomeration of businesses tend to lead to lower carbon emissions due to economies of scale (Adom et al., 2018; Kwakwa & Alhassan, 2018). Regarding population pressure, various studies have looked at the effect of urbanization, population density, and dependency ratio. The reported evidence from many of these studies is that urbanization increases carbon emissions. Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 4 of 19 For instance, the works of Adusah-Poku (2016) and Boateng (2020) showed urbanization increases CO 2 emissions in Ghana; Boamah et al. (2017) found similar results for China. However, Saidi et al., (2017) found urbanization reduces CO 2 emissions in emerging countries; and AsumaduSarkodie and Owusu (2017) found positive effect for Senegal. Chen et al. (2023) obtained a positive effect of urban growth in the carbon emissions in 125 countries. In their study on the effect of urbanization on carbon emissions, Dutta and Hazarika (2023) focused on 68 low-income and lower-middle-income countries and found that urbanization increases carbon emission. Wei et al. (2023) also found for the belt and road initiative region that urbanization positively increases carbon emissions. A comparative study on the carbon effect of urbanization for South and East Asia by Amin and Song (2023) revealed urbanization increases carbon emissions of East Asia regions but insignificant effect in South Asia region. However, Li and Haneklaus (2022) in assessing the drivers of carbon emissions in G7 countries found urbanization pressure to reduce carbon emissions. In BRICS economies, the work of Balsalobre-Lorente et al. (2022) found urbanization to be helpful in the reduction of carbon emissions. Earlier studies like Sharma (2011) and Hossain (2011) found urbanization reduces carbon emissions for a group of developing and developed economies. Also, Ahmed et al. (2019) found similar outcome in Indonesia. 2.3. Gender and carbon emissions The effect of gender of CO 2 emissions has not been much investigated. Women are argued to be concerned with sustainable environment than men since the former suffer the most from environmental degradation (Kwakwa et al., 2022). Women are therefore noted to engage in conservation practices compared to men (Khan, 2023). Studies like Khan (2023), Ghasemi et al. (2021) and Uliczka et al. (2004) among others have also confirmed that women engage in activities that positively affect environmental management. For instance, in the USA, Atif et al. (2021) reported that female board members promote renewable energy consumption. Regarding the gender effect on CO 2 emissions, few studies such as Nuber & Velte (2021) reported that female board members promote efforts to reduce total carbon emission by firms in Europe. Fan et al. (2023) found that female directors outside of a firm help to reduce firms’ carbon emission in Japan. 2.4. Gaps in the literature The above review has shown that studies on carbon emissions has gained the attention of researchers. However, few studies have analyzed the effect of trade and urbanization in Ghana with reported conflicting results. Also, the effect of female population on national CO 2 emissions has not been given much empirical analysis. As it stands now, the few studies have focused on how gender affects firm level emissions with little to no evidence at the national level. Such studies are also outside Africa, which makes it difficult to inform policymakers on the continent for the appropriate actions to be taken. These issues make it necessary for the current study to be embark upon for the Ghanaian economy at this moment. 3. Methods 3.1. Theoretical and empirical modeling The concept of sustainable development since 1987 has been used to campaign for societies to meet their current needs without compromising the needs of the future generations. Thus, it encompasses three main pillars, namely, the economy, society, and environment. The environment pillar focuses on protecting the environment from being destroyed by human activities geared toward meeting current needs. The idea behind this pillar is the need to properly manage human activities that put pressure on the environment in order not to disadvantage future generations. Accordingly, the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence, & Technology (STIRPAT) model was been developed to assess which factors may have environmental effects (Dietz & Rosa, 1997). The model argues environmental impact (I) is attributed to population (P), affluence or economic activities (A), and technology (T). This is expressed in a stochastic form as: Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 5 of 19 The variables a, β, λ, σ, δ, and v are parameters to be estimated. Since CO 2 emission is a major contributor of GHGs, it is considered as an environmental problem (Minlah & Zhang, 2021), carbon emissions are taken as Impact (I). Following the works of Xu et al. (2020) and Dietz and Rosa (1997), female population (FEP) and urban population (UBS) are used to denote (P) population pressure. Affluence is denoted by trade openness (TO), which contributes significantly to income level of Ghana. Trade openness has also been associated with the wealth of a nation (Froyen, 2013) and telephone infrastructure is used to represent technology (TEL) (Kwakwa et al., 2022). The choice for this model is appropriate for this study, taking into consideration the recent population dynamics in Ghana, carbon emissions level, and the level of international trade in the country. Taking the above into consideration gives: The natural logarithm of equation 2 is taken to transform the equation to: 3.2. Data and estimation techniques Time series data spanning from 1971–2021 is used for analysis. World Bank’s (2023) World Development Indicators is the source for all the data used in this study. First of all, the variables for the study are chosen based on the objective, theoretical, and empirical review. The period 1971–2021 is chosen due to data availability for the chosen variables and the fact that it is in the relevant time frame to inform policymakers. CO 2 emission is measured by CO 2 emissions metric tons per capita, female population is share of female in total population, urbanization is urban population as a share of total population, trade is measured as the sum of exports and imports as a share of GDP, and telecommunication infrastructure is measured as the number of telephone subscribers. The use of these proxies does not deviate from what previous studies have used (Aboagye et al., 2020; Xu et al., 2020). Time series data usually contain unit root which can lead to spurious results. To avoid this, it is important to ascertain the stationarity property of the variables. If a variable is stationary, it is free from unit root. If a variable is not stationary at levels, the first difference is taken to verify if stationarity is confirmed. This study used the Augmented DickeyFuller (ADF), Phillips-Perron (PP), and Zivot-Andrew (ZA) unit root tests to assess the stationarity property of the variables. The ADF and PP are appropriate for sample size used for this study. However, if a variable contains a structural break, they may not give credible results. Consequently, the ZA test, which is effective in the presence of structural breaks, is also employed to confirm the results (Zivot & Andrews, 1992). Then, we tested for the long run relationships among the variables using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds approach, which is ideal for a mixture of variables integrated of order zero I (0) and one I (1) (Pesaran & Shin, 1995). Having established the long-run relationship, the study followed with ARDL regression to estimate equation 4. This technique uses the lags of both dependent and explanatory variables for regressors. The maximum lag selected was 4 based on the Akaike information criterion. The choice for this estimation method is predicated on the fact that it is ideal for cointegrated variables of different orders of integration and is able to address the potential endogeneities associated with the models unlike estimators like the ordinary least squares technique. The ARDL framework of equations (4) can be presented as respectively follows: Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 6 of 19 where ρ 1 is drift components and e 1t is the white noise error term. The terms with summation signs (Ʃ) represent the short-run dynamics, and the second part of the equation with the coefficient φ ij corresponds to the long-run relationship. The ecm t-1 is the error correction term, with coefficient ʋi referring to the speed of adjustment to long-run equilibrium and ∆ is a difference operator. After the estimation of the short and long-run coefficients of the explanatory variables, diagnostic tests of normality, heteroscedasticity, serial correlation, and stability were conducted to establish the adequacy of the model. The Fully Modified Ordinary Least Squares (FMOLS) and the Canocical Cointegration Regression (CCR) were estimated to confirm the long run results from ARDL technique. Also, the variance decomposition analysis to ascertain the contributions of the drivers of CO 2 emission following a shock is also analyzed. For causality analysis, Toda Yamamoto causality test is employed. The study relied on Eviews version 10 for the data analysis. It was used for the preliminary tests and the model estimations. Following Fuinhas et al. (2021) and Kwakwa et al. (2022), the methodological approach has been illustrated in Figure 1. 4. Results and discussions 4.1. Unit root and cointegration results Unit root tests from the ADF, PP, and Zivot-Andrews approach are Table 1. All three tests confirm that trade openness, telecommunication, and CO 2 emission are stationary at first difference. Also, the ADF and PP do not confirm stationarity at levels and first difference for female population and urbanization; ZA reveals that they are at stationary at levels. These results indeed show in the presence of structural breaks the ADF and PP may give misleading results. The attainment of stationarity of the variables at levels and first difference implies the variables can be used for regression analysis without getting a spurious outcome. In Table 2, cointegration results using the ARDL approach are reported. The results reveal cointegration exists between carbon emission, C Unit root test Cointegra!on test Cointegra!on regression Zivot-Andrews , Augmented Dickey-Fuller, and PhillipsPerron tets ARDL Bounds test ARDL, FMOLS and CCR approach Diagnos!c analysis Test for normality, stability, multicollinearity , Heteroscedasticity and serial correlation Causality & Variance decomposi!on analysis Toda - Yamamoto & Cholesky decomposition approach Figure 1. Estimation technique flow chart. Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 7 of 19 influences gender population gap nor is it within the realm of policy to feasibly alter reproduction to increase female population. It is for this reason that efforts need to be put in place to enhance the sociocultural and economic livelihoods of the female population in the country. The country can thus, benefit more from its female population in terms of quality environment by further enhancing their capacity to engage in environmentally friendly practices. In this way, intensifying the empowerment of women through girl child education, female literacy, female labour force participation, and women parliamentary representation could be a crucial catalyst optimizing the environmental gains of its female population. This is because if female population on its own is able to reduce CO 2 emissions, then increasing women empowerment, female literacy, female labour force participation, and women parliamentary representation could be expected to generate even more of such environmental gains. Even though Ghana already has policies aimed at bridging the gender inequality gap in respect of education at all levels supported by various affirmative actions and other female literacy programmes, gender inequities still persist. Similarly, although there are also policies aimed at removing barriers to female labour force participation and increasing women representation at all arms of government (i.e., executive, parliament and the judiciary), more efforts on these fronts are imperative for greater gains. This study recommends intensification of these and other allied policies as they would not only help the country achieve its respective objectives but also contribute to reduction in CO 2 emissions which would in turn support the realization of Ghana’s nationally determined contributions toward global CO 2 reduction. The findings and the ensuing conclusions also suggest that Ghana can remain on its current trade openness trajectory as part of the country’s broader objective to contribute meaningfully to the global fight against climate change via reduction in CO 2 emissions. To achieve this, we suggest the following in respect of international trade. Foremost, Ghana, generally has a greater trade openness orientation with minimal to moderate protectionist policy. However, the positive environmental gains from trade openness in Ghana should draw the attention of policymakers to remain even more conscious of its trade negotiations with trading partners. In that regard, negotiations that promote environmental protection, particularly in the areas of GHGs such as CO 2 emissions should not be relaxed. It is recommended that regulation on the importation of only energy-efficient households’ appliances such as refrigerators, air conditioners, and light bulbs should be strengthened even further. This should be extended in similar rigorousness to all other sectors of the economy including industry, transport, and construction so that imports that support these sectors are those that are environmentallyfriendly and have minimal to zero carbon emission rating. This could be bolstered by increasing import duties on gadgets that are harmful to the environment and/or increase CO 2 emission for carbonfinancing projects while imposing lower duties on equipment that leads to lower carbon dioxide emission. In respect of important, government has over the past decade been committed to diversify its export composition as a way to reducing its reliance on the export of natural resource extraction. This is a policy in the right direction because it has the potential of reducing environmental degradation and CO 2 emissions. Policy must not only continue in this pursuit but must also consider enforcing environmental laws and regulation regarding illegal and harmful exploitation and extraction of natural resources that contribute to CO 2 emissions. Urbanization remains a threat to the country’s efforts to fight hikes in CO 2 emissions as evident by the both regression and causality results. Thus, there is the need for Ghana to re-evaluate its urbanization process and critically in the spirit of environmental sustainability. One viable aspect is to minimize the pace of urbanization which can be achieved when government gets extra committed to rural development. This could balance development in the country and subsequently reduce the rural-urban migration which is mainly responsible for expansion in urban population of the country. Moreover, conscious efforts to reduce transport and congestion by promoting efficient public transport system is crucial. The former is linked to fossil fuels consumption and the latter results in excess waste and fossil use. All of these avenues could contribute to CO 2 emission in both direct and indirect ways. In addition, even though the country has a well-functioning Urban Planning Department coupled with various municipalities and environmental agencies, it appears their effectiveness in planning, directing, and controlling Ghana’s urbanization structure and process to optimize environmental gains is yet to be fully realized. This study recommends Opoku Marfo et al., Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318 https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2023.2246318 Page 14 of 19 a revitalization of the functioning of these institutions to ensure environmentally friendly urban structuring, decongestion, slum degrowth, waste management aimed at reducing CO 2 emissions and improving environmental quality altogether in urban centers. Also, since Ghana’s urbanization process is generally a by-product of its industrial drive, law enforcement agencies need to strictly ensure that industries mainly found in urban areas of Ghana adhere to safer environmental practices. 6.3. Limitations and further studies An important aspect of the potential effect of trade openness on CO 2 emission relates to the composition and direction of trade as these could have markedly peculiar CO 2 emission outcomes. Similarly, the structure of urbanization could have implications for CO 2 emission different from the effect of the urban population itself. In the same way, some aspects of female population such as female environmental awareness and women’s environmental participation among others could be expected to broaden our understanding of the effects of female population on CO 2 emissions. However, the study was limited in terms of quality data availability and thus could not explore these important dimensions of the theme. This is regarded as a potential source for future studies as quality data become publicly available. Where data are available, future studies can consider various categories of female populations such as the age dimension and employment status to offer more insight into the subject matter. Funding Author did not receive any funding for this study Author details Emmanuel Opoku Marfo 1 Paul Adjei Kwakwa 1 E-mail: [email protected] ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6516-217X Solomon Aboagye 2 Peter Ansu-Mensah 3 1 School of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana. 2 Department of Economics, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa. 3 Department of Marketing, Sunyani Technical University, Sunyani, Ghana. Author contributions Paul Adjei Kwakwa conceived the research idea, collected and analyzed data; Peter AnsuMensah reviewed literature and concluded the study, Emmanuel OpokuMarfo discussed the results and offered conclusion; and Solomon Aboagye worked on the methodology and offered recommendation. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. Disclosure statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s). Data availability The datasets analysed during the current study are available in the World Bank’s World Development Indicators repository, [https://databank.worldbank.org/ source/world-development-indicators#] Informed consent The study did not rely on data or participants that consent was needed. Citation information Cite this article as: The role of female population, urbanization and trade openness in sustainable environment: The case of carbon dioxide emissions in Ghana, Emmanuel Opoku Marfo, Paul Adjei Kwakwa, Solomon Aboagye & Peter Ansu-Mensah, Cogent Economics & Finance (2023), 11: 2246318. References Aboagye, S. (2017). Economic expansion and environmental sustainability nexus in Ghana. African Development Review, 29(2), 155–168. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/1467-8268.12247 Aboagye, S., Appiah-Konadu, P., & Acheampong, V. (2020). 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