Sustainable Development in the United States: Investigating the Relationship Between Key Socioeconomic Factors and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The study examines the effects of key socioeconomic factors on carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in the United States, including the impact of population, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the percentage of energy produced by renewable energy sources, and electric vehicle usage. A standardized data analysis approach using Multiple Regression Analysis has been followed. The overall results of the analysis show that socioeconomic factors considered in the study have a significant nonlinear effect on the amount of CO2 emissions in the United States. However, the individual significance test results for each variable indicate that the population has a statistically significant and nonlinear effect on CO2 emissions, with a negative effect, as the population increases, CO2 emissions also tend to increase. The results also demonstrate that GDP in our context is not statistically significant, suggesting that variations in GDP do not have a significant impact on CO2 emissions. Furthermore, the individual significance test results show that the percentage of energy produced by renewable sources and the usage of electric vehicles have a statistically significant and positive nonlinear relation with CO2 emissions, suggesting that the increase in the values of these two variables can lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions. Further research should focus on exploring other socioeconomic factors and their impact on CO2 emissions, validating the findings in the context of other countries, studying the effects of these factors on other greenhouse gas emissions, and relating the research findings to the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.