Air pollution and economic growth nexus in Nigeria: the case for environmental sustainability

Abstract This research investigates the link between air pollution and economic growth in Nigeria from 1985 to 2019 using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) methodology. Air pollution was captured by nitrous oxide emission and carbon dioxide emission, while economic growth was proxied by gross domestic product (GDP). Empirical results showed that gross fixed capital formation (domestic investment) had a significant positive impact on the gross domestic product, butnitrous oxide emission and carbon dioxide emission had negative and insignificant impacts on gross domestic product. Based on the above, the study recommended the introduction and proper implementation of more policies like carbon taxingin specific industries emitting large volume of greenhouse gases – like cement and petrochemical industries. Also, revenue from this form of tax should be invested in projects that would generate employment opportunities for the people, especially the youths.The study also suggests that the government implement policies to promote domestic green hydrogen investments.