Author(s): Olusola Joshua Olujobi, Elizabeta Smaranda Olarinde, Ebenezer Tunde Yebisi, Uchechukwu Emena Okorie
Energy is significant in any country; paucity of access to a constant energy supply fosters poverty and the decline in economic growth. Nigeria is endowed with copious low-carbon energy resources for sustainable development. However, it fails to optimize these resources. The study examines the potential of low-carbon energy that could be utilized for a constant energy supply. The study utilizes empirical, doctrinal legal research approaches with primary and secondary sources of laws such as textbooks, and peer-reviewed journals. Comparative legal analyses of low-carbon energy in China, Spain, Germany and Nigeria were done to gain valuable insights into the stable electricity supply. Theories and empirical procedures were used in the estimation of carbon emission with the instrumentality of the auto-regressive distributed lag model. The results of the short-run and long-run model estimates revealed a positive contribution of electricity consumed to significant variations in CO2 emission. Variations in hydroelectric power sources accounted for a significant decline in carbon emissions. The error correction model provided evidence of a significant high mechanism for systemic convergence in the presence of exogenous shocks. The article designs a hybrid model for adopting low-carbon energy, and advocates reform of energy laws to mitigate environmental impact and for sustainability.