ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
EXPLORING EDUCATION'S MODERATING ROLE IN CO2 EMISSION AND ECONOMIC DYNAMICS IN ASIA NATIONS
Hang My Hanh Le 1
Minh Trung Ho 1
Ngoc Bao Tram Tran 1
Maciej Turała 2
1. Foreign Trade University, Hanoi, Vietnam
2. Uniwersytet Lodzki, Łódź, Poland
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
Abstract
This study explores the interconnections between carbon dioxide emissions, economic growth, energy consumption, trade openness, and education across 36 Asian countries, focusing on education's direct and moderating effects. Using the Feasible Generalized Least Squares, Canonical Cointegration Regression, Fully-modified Ordinary Least Square, and two-step Generalized Method of Moments, the study confirms the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis applied for Asian panel data, reflecting the impact of economic growth inon CO2 emissions. Additionally, we find that while education directly reduces environmental pollution, it also amplifies the negative effects of energy consumption on the environment in the short run and long run. The impact of trade openness on CO2 emissions varies both in the short run as well as the long run, with the presence of CO2 endogeneity and the moderating role of the high level of education. The study highlights the need for tailored policy approaches and further research, thus calling for context-specific strategies and further research on education's role in environmental outcomes.
Summary
Keywords
Asia, CO2 emission, economic growth, Education, environmental degradation
Received
22 January 2026
Accepted
17 February 2026
Copyright
© 2026 Le, Ho, Tran and Turała. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
*Correspondence: Hang My Hanh Le
Disclaimer
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.