Impacts of trade and institutional quality on carbon emissions in transition economies

We examine the effects of trade and institutional quality on carbon emissions from European transition economies. Trade initially negatively impacts the environment through greater CO₂ emissions but eventually contributes to a reduction of CO₂ emissions beyond a certain threshold. Institutional quality including control of corruption contributes to CO₂ emission reductions. Connecting trade with environmental solutions, we identify an inverted U-shaped relationship between trade volume and carbon emissions.