Can green policies be trusted and will they lead to practical results? Evidence from the U.S. electric power sector

Abstract

From Kyoto to Paris, treaties and protocols have been devised and ratified unanimously in order to prevent the well-known phenomenon “climate change”. But has global warming been practically deferred or prevented? If so, then why should we experience warmer seasons each year or even behold water level rise due to the melting of arctic ice mountains? These are serious questions that could expose the future of green energies and green policies to jeopardy, if not answered to scientifically. Hence, we decided to provide a proof to clarify whether the practice of green policies could lead to actual results or the enacted protocols and policies are just fantasies. As a case, the U.S. electricity sector was selected and by providing an econometric framework, the dynamics between the carbon dioxide and coal as the main culprit of global warming and total amount of exploited renewable energy in power generation was studied.