A very recent research publication by AUN's Professor of Economics, Dr. Ismail Aliyu Danmaraya, recommended hydropower energy as a clean source of renewable electricity.
As an energy source, "Hydropower's consumption indicates a negative relationship with CO2 emissions. The countries should emphasize more on the use of hydro source of energy than the other sources which increase the rate of carbon dioxide (C02) emissions in the atmosphere", the new study, "Impact of Hydropower Consumption, Foreign Direct Investment and Manufacturing Performance on CO2 Emissions in the ASEAN-4 Countries" concluded.
Co-authored with Dr. Abubakar Hamid Danlami, the study was published in late 2021 in the International Journal of Energy Sector Management (Emerald Publishing Limited) and examined the impacts of hydropower consumption, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), and manufacturing performance on CO2 emissions in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-4 countries, i.e., Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, and Thailand.
Unlike gas or coal-powered turbines, energy from hydropower sources does not require burning fossil fuels. Hydropower plants run on naturally occurring water and do not emit greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.
"To reduce the CO2 emissions from manufacturing activities, ASEAN-4 has to try and diversify their main source of economic growth from manufacturing activities to other sectors that have less CO2 emissions, such as information and communication sectors and other services sectors. Additionally, manufacturing firms should invest in quality machines that generate less emission to lessen the extent of environmental emissions", the study added.
SAS Professor Ismail Aliyu Danmaraya was the lead author of another research paper: "Heterogeneous Effect of Oil Production on Environmental Degradation: Panel Evidence from OPEC Member Countries”, which was also published in the Scopus-indexed International Journal of Energy Sector Management (Emerald Publishing).
The paper studied the asymmetric effect of oil production on environmental degradation in OPEC member countries from 1970–to 2019.