Abstract
The relationship between per capita income growth and environmental quality (EKC) has beenwidely studied in the literature. This research has yielded a wide range of conflicting results and controversy. We conducted a meta-regression analysis and demonstrated the existence of a long-run EKC, i.e., the existence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income and environmental quality. Using the Pooled Mean Group (PMG) and Augmented Mean Group (AMG) estimators, we demonstrated the existence of a quadratic relationship between income growth and the ecological footprint. This confirms the validity of the EKC within the EU countries. We were also able to demonstrate that renewable energy plays an important role in reducing carbon emissions within the EU and that the European Green Deal targets towards carbon neutrality in 2050 can be achieved through strong initiatives to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy (solar PV and wind).