Renewable energy use: country-specific assessment of its relationship with air pollution, health, human development indicators.

Abstract: Renewable energy use is a growing topic worldwide due to climate change mitigation. Countries worldwide are trying to increase renewable energy use because it has many benefits, such as decreased air pollution, improved health conditions, and improved Human Development Index. The objective of the study is to compare the country-specific trajectories of renewable energy as a percentage of total energy production and electricity production from renewable sources, evaluate the link between renewable energy use and outdoor air pollution worldwide, and also understand whether the use of renewable energy is linked to population health and the human development index. The data was collected from the University of Oxford’s Our World in Data. The source has global temporal data on the use of renewable energy, energy access, indoor and ambient pollution, human development index, and several health indicators. The study was done by statistical analysis. My trend analyses suggest that renewable energy production as the percentage of total energy production increased for most countries in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Northern Europe, and North America (except for Mexico). The same scenario was also observed for the share of renewable energy for electricity production. Many countries in other regions of the world, including many low-income countries, didn’t have the same trend. For many counties and regions globally, renewable energy reduces PM2.5 concentrations in the ambient air. Also found in many countries, renewable energy use is associated with increased life expectancy, decreased cancer deaths, reduced deaths due to ambient PM2.5 concentration, and a high human development index.