Development of an integrated model for emission reduction through energy efficiency and renewable energy

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2025.345067

Keywords:

decarbonization, sustainable energy, emission reduction strategies, environmental policy, regression analysis

Abstract

The study’s focus is the country’s energy sector, including renewable energy production. The problem to be solved is modeling the impact of energy efficiency and renewable energy production on greenhouse gas emissions in the country. This study investigates the impact of energy efficiency and the transition to renewable energy sources on greenhouse gas emissions in Azerbaijan, where the energy mix remains dominated by fossil fuels. Using a regression–based analytical framework, the research quantifies the contribution of these factors to changes in emission levels over time. The empirical results demonstrate that improvements in energy efficiency, measured as gross domestic product (GDP) generated per unit of total energy consumption, exert the greatest influence on emission reductions. This finding suggests that economic growth driven by efficient energy use can serve as a key mechanism for decarbonization. In contrast, the expected mitigating effect of the share of renewable energy sources in the national energy balance was not statistically significant. This outcome is likely explained by the relatively small share of renewables in Azerbaijan’s total energy supply and the early stage of the country’s renewable sector. The study concludes that effective climate policy should combine measures to accelerate improvements in energy efficiency with initiatives to expand the use of renewable energy. The proposed model highlights the dual importance of optimizing existing energy consumption while investing in cleaner technologies. Based on the results, 80% of the annual change in a country’s greenhouse gas emissions can be explained by changes in factors such as renewable electricity generation, the share of renewable electricity in total electricity generation, and GDP per unit of energy consumption. The findings can be applied to the design of sustainable energy strategies and long-term decarbonization policies.

Author Biographies

Ulviyya Rzayeva, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)

PhD, Associate Professor

Department of Digital Technologies and Applied Informatics

Rasul Balayev, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)

Doctor of Science in Economics, Professor

Department of Digital Technologies and Applied Informatics

Emin Ahmadzade, Agrarian Research Center of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan

PhD in Economics, PhD Student in the Doctor of Science Program

Konul Mirzammadova, Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC)

Senior Lecturer

Department of Digital Technologies and Applied Informatics

References

  1. Shang, Y., Sang, S., Tiwari, A. K., Khan, S., Zhao, X. (2024). Impacts of renewable energy on climate risk: A global perspective for energy transition in a climate adaptation framework. Applied Energy, 362, 122994. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2024.122994
  2. Nunes, L. J. R. (2023). The Rising Threat of Atmospheric CO2: A Review on the Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation Strategies. Environments, 10 (4), 66. https://doi.org/10.3390/environments10040066
  3. Smith, H. B., Vaughan, N. E., Forster, J. (2024). Residual emissions in long-term national climate strategies show limited climate ambition. One Earth, 7 (5), 867–884. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2024.04.009
  4. Wang, W., Melnyk, L., Kubatko, O., Kovalov, B., Hens, L. (2023). Economic and Technological Efficiency of Renewable Energy Technologies Implementation. Sustainability, 15 (11), 8802. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118802
  5. Alam, M. S., Manigandan, P., Kisswani, K. M., Baig, I. A. (2025). Achieving goals of the 2030 sustainable development agenda through renewable energy utilization: Comparing the environmental sustainability effects of economic growth and financial development. Sustainable Futures, 9, 100534. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2025.100534
  6. Diaconescu, M., Marinas, L. E., Marinoiu, A. M., Popescu, M.-F., Diaconescu, M. (2024). Towards Renewable Energy Transition: Insights from Bibliometric Analysis on Scholar Discourse to Policy Actions. Energies, 17 (18), 4719. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17184719
  7. Yu, H., Wen, B., Zahidi, I., Chow, M. F., Liang, D., Madsen, D. Ø. (2024). The critical role of energy transition in addressing climate change at COP28. Results in Engineering, 22, 102324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.102324
  8. Rzayeva, U., Guliyeva, A., Jafarova, N. (2021). Analysis of some indicators by means of fuzzy logic on the example of Azerbaijani energy enterprises. E3S Web of Conferences, 250, 02001. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202125002001
  9. Candra, O., Chammam, A., Alvarez, J. R. N., Muda, I., Aybar, H. Ş. (2023). The Impact of Renewable Energy Sources on the Sustainable Development of the Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Sustainability, 15 (3), 2104. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032104
  10. Szeberényi, A., Rokicki, T., Papp-Váry, Á. (2022). Examining the Relationship between Renewable Energy and Environmental Awareness. Energies, 15 (19), 7082. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15197082
  11. Atstāja, D. (2025). Renewable Energy for Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Current Landscape. Energies, 18 (1), 196. https://doi.org/10.3390/en18010196
  12. Suleman, S., Sowah, J. N. (2024). Investigating the implications of energy transition on electricity tariffs in Ghana. Social Sciences & Humanities Open, 10, 101185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2024.101185
  13. Guliyeva, A., Rzayeva, U., Azimzadeh, A. (2023). Navigating Investment Risks in the Renewable Energy Market of Developing Countries. Analyzing Energy Crises and the Impact of Country Policies on the World, 54–81. https://doi.org/10.4018/979-8-3693-0440-2.ch004
  14. Lorente-de-Las-Casas, A., Marrero, G. A. (2025). Impact of renewable energies on CO2 emissions in the OECD. Energy Sources, Part B: Economics, Planning, and Policy, 20 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/15567249.2025.2517325
  15. Ibishova, B., Misund, B., Tveterås, R. (2024). Driving green: Financial benefits of carbon emission reduction in companies. International Review of Financial Analysis, 96, 103757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103757
  16. Hasanov, F. J., Mukhtarov, S., Suleymanov, E. (2023). The role of renewable energy and total factor productivity in reducing CO2 emissions in Azerbaijan. Fresh insights from a new theoretical framework coupled with Autometrics. Energy Strategy Reviews, 47, 101079. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2023.101079
  17. Mustafayev, F., Kulawczuk, P., Orobello, C. (2022). Renewable Energy Status in Azerbaijan: Solar and Wind Potentials for Future Development. Energies, 15 (2), 401. https://doi.org/10.3390/en15020401
  18. Qamruzzaman, M., Karim, S. (2023). Does public-private investment augment renewable energy consumption in BIMSTEC nations? Evidence from symmetric and asymmetric assessment. Energy Strategy Reviews, 49, 101169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2023.101169
  19. Tvinnereim, E., Mehling, M. (2018). Carbon pricing and deep decarbonisation. Energy Policy, 121, 185–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2018.06.020
  20. Liu, W., Zhang, X., Feng, S. (2019). Does renewable energy policy work? Evidence from a panel data analysis. Renewable Energy, 135, 635–642. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.12.037
  21. Sribna, Y., Stupnytskyi, V., Stupnytska, N. (2023). Problems and trends of ukraine’s transition to the EU environmental and energy system. Bulletin National University of Water and Environmental Engineering, 1 (101), 204–215. https://doi.org/10.31713/ve1202318
  22. Us, Y., Pimonenko, T., Lyulyov, O. (2021). The impact of energy efficiency policy on Ukraine’s green brand: a bibliometrics analysis. Polityka Energetyczna – Energy Policy Journal, 24 (4), 5–18. https://doi.org/10.33223/epj/142462
  23. Tachega, M. A., Yao, X., Liu, Y., Ahmed, D., Li, H., Mintah, C. (2021). Energy efficiency evaluation of oil producing economies in Africa: DEA, malmquist and multiple regression approaches. Cleaner Environmental Systems, 2, 100025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cesys.2021.100025
  24. Energy supply from renewable sources. The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaija. Available at: https://www.stat.gov.az/search/?q=b%C9%99rpa+olunan+enerji&lang=en
  25. Energy. The State Statistical Committee of the Republic of Azerbaija. Energy supply from renewable sources. Available at: https://www.stat.gov.az/source/balance_fuel/?lang=en
  26. Azerbaijan Renewable Energy. Available at: https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/aze/azerbaijan/renewable-energy-statistics#:~:text=Azerbaijan%20renewable%20energy%20for%202021,a%200.01%25%20increase%20from%202017
  27. Azerbaijan AZ:(GDP) Gross Domestic Productper Unit of Energy Use: PPP per Kg of Oil Equivalent. Available at: https://www.ceicdata.com/en/azerbaijan/environmental-energy-production-and-consumption/az-gdp-per-unit-of-energy-use-ppp-per-kg-of-oil-equivalent
  28. Global Historical Emissions. Available at: https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions?breakBy=sector&chartType=area&regions=AZE&source=Climate%20Watch
  29. Wang, A., Lin, Q., Liu, C., Yang, L., Sun, S. (2024). Sustainable Energy Development: Reviewing Carbon Emission Reduction in Photovoltaic Power Systems. Sustainability, 16 (23), 10428. https://doi.org/10.3390/su162310428
  30. Gajdzik, B., Wolniak, R., Nagaj, R., Žuromskaitė-Nagaj, B., Grebski, W. W. (2024). The Influence of the Global Energy Crisis on Energy Efficiency: A Comprehensive Analysis. Energies, 17 (4), 947. https://doi.org/10.3390/en17040947
  31. Berardi, U. (2017). A cross-country comparison of the building energy consumptions and their trends. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 123, 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resconrec.2016.03.014
  32. Oliveira, H., Moutinho, V. (2021). Renewable Energy, Economic Growth and Economic Development Nexus: A Bibliometric Analysis. Energies, 14 (15), 4578. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14154578
Development of an integrated model for emission reduction through energy efficiency and renewable energy

Downloads

Published

2025-12-31

How to Cite

Rzayeva, U., Balayev, R., Ahmadzade, E., & Mirzammadova, K. (2025). Development of an integrated model for emission reduction through energy efficiency and renewable energy. Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, 6(10 (138), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.15587/1729-4061.2025.345067

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 10 (138) (2025): Ecology

Section

Ecology

License

Copyright (c) 2025 Ulviyya Rzayeva, Rasul Balayev, Emin Ahmadzade, Konul Mirzammadova

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The consolidation and conditions for the transfer of copyright (identification of authorship) is carried out in the License Agreement. In particular, the authors reserve the right to the authorship of their manuscript and transfer the first publication of this work to the journal under the terms of the Creative Commons CC BY license. At the same time, they have the right to conclude on their own additional agreements concerning the non-exclusive distribution of the work in the form in which it was published by this journal, but provided that the link to the first publication of the article in this journal is preserved.

A license agreement is a document in which the author warrants that he/she owns all copyright for the work (manuscript, article, etc.).
The authors, signing the License Agreement with TECHNOLOGY CENTER PC, have all rights to the further use of their work, provided that they link to our edition in which the work was published.
According to the terms of the License Agreement, the Publisher TECHNOLOGY CENTER PC does not take away your copyrights and receives permission from the authors to use and dissemination of the publication through the world's scientific resources (own electronic resources, scientometric databases, repositories, libraries, etc.).
In the absence of a signed License Agreement or in the absence of this agreement of identifiers allowing to identify the identity of the author, the editors have no right to work with the manuscript.
It is important to remember that there is another type of agreement between authors and publishers – when copyright is transferred from the authors to the publisher. In this case, the authors lose ownership of their work and may not use it in any way.