Mean Reversion in CO2 Emissions: the Need for Structural Change

This paper examines stochastic convergence of national and relative per capita CO 2 emissions for a wide range of nations. It demonstrates that nearly all series are mean-reverting once allowance is made for non-linearity and the presence of serial correlation. The policy implications are far-reaching since the implication is that mitigation can be accomplished only through structural changes that alter the deterministic paths of emissions.