Renewable energy transition and sustainable construction: evidence from Morocco’s sustainability transformation
摘要
The rapid growth of urban areas and infrastructure within Morocco at a high pace has put pressure on the construction industry, which has been a significant contributor to national greenhouse gas emissions. Morocco has undertaken one of the most ambitious renewable energy (RE) projects to demonstrate how clean energy development can lead to sustainability in the construction industry. This study examines the dynamics between the transition to renewable energy (TRE) and sustainable construction (SC) between 2001 and 2024. This study employed entropy-based indicator weighting, static coupling coordination, dynamic time-varying window regression, and econometric models. The findings indicate that despite the significant growth in the RE sector, emissions in the construction sector are increasing, leaving a sustainability gap. However, the static coupling results showed that the TRE-SC relationship is much more reinforced over the years; the values of coupling tend to converge toward unity by 2024. The coordination indices suggest that the process is associated with a more harmonious developmental trajectory. Early instability and gradual convergence of the dynamic rolling window coefficients were associated with the maturation of Morocco’s energy and construction policies. The regression results indicate that the development of RE sources has a strong positive impact on SC, whereas urbanization and fossil fuel use have a negative effect. This study showed that the implementation of RE can drive sustainability in the construction industry. Significant shifts can be achieved when attempts are made to mitigate emissions, innovate building practices, and implement environmental regulations.