Attaining Environmental Sustainability Through Cashew Nut Production in India: Revisiting the Role of Energy Consumption and Economic Growth

Although carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are the most debated topic in the current era, the solution for this is not yet reached a conclusion in the literature. Further, curbing CO2 emissions along with maintaining the same pace of economic growth is necessary to achieve sustainable development. Being a top producing, processing and exporting country of cashew nuts in the world, India has a well-established growth effect that emanates from cashew nut production. However, the environmental effect of cashew nut production is not clear. Thus, this study aims to assess the role of cashew nut production on CO2 emissions while endogenising energy consumption and economic growth in the environmental degradation function of India during 1975-2021. For empirical analysis, the study uses combined cointegration, cointegrating regressions, and time and frequency domain causality tests. The evolved outcome shows a long-run cointegration of the series. Further, cashew nut production significantly reduces CO2 emissions, while energy consumption portrays a significantly increasing role in CO2 emissions. Surprisingly, but not shockingly, economic growth significantly reduces CO2 emissions in India. From the causality point of view, a unidirectional causality runs from cashew nut production to CO2 emissions in both time and frequency time causality tests. Based on the findings, the study suggests a policy for sustainable development in India.