Nexus between tourism, hydropower, and CO2 emissions in India: fresh insights from ARDL and cumulative fourier frequency domain causality

Tourism industry is the lifeblood of many developing economies across the globe, and India is a hotspot of diverse cultural heritage and a beautiful natural landscape that has emerged as an attractive tourism destination recently. However, the global challenges of greenhouse gas emission have been acting as a detriment in sustainable tourism-led economic growth for India. In this study, the relationship between economic growth, hydropower consumption, and CO2 emission has been revisited for India by including tourism polynomials and energy intensity in the Environmental Kuznets Curve specification. The unique outcome provides evidence of “Inverted N-shaped” relationship between tourism and CO2 emission. Further, the negative impact of hydropower consumption suggests that a higher proportion of hydropower in the Indian energy mix would help to achieve its sustainable development goals while accelerating its economic growth. The outcome suggests sustainable tourism practices aligned with capital investment and hydropower promotion to achieve environmental sustainability in India.