Examining the relationship between the economic growth, energy use, CO2 emissions, and water resources: Evidence from selected MENA countries

Water shortage and food security concerns are amplified by the spread of irrigated cultures within the context of climatic unpredictability. In the hot, arid MENA area, the frequent drought periods and the continuous deterioration of water resources limits the ecological system's functioning and the sustainable agricultural productivity. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the potential impacts of the evolution of water resources management on the environmental components, using Westerlund's (2007) panel cointegration and the Common Correlated Effects Mean Group (CCE-MG) estimator for a sample of six MENA economies over 35 years ((1990–2015). In the short run, there is unidirectional causality from agricultureadded value to CO2 and from water productivity to CO2 without any feedback. while, a bidirectional causality nexus was detected between energy consumption and CO2 emission In the long run, however, a feedback causality has been obtained between CO2 emissions, agriculture added value, water productivity, and energy consumption. Sustainable water management, smart water systems, and energy transition in the water related activities are highly recommended as priorities towards a NetZero carbon global economic trend