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This paper delves into an econometric analysis to uncover the differences between Nordic European Countries - NEC (Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden) and South-East European Countries - SEEC (Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary). The focus is on exploring the interplay among electricity generation from Renewable Energy Sources (RES), CO 2 emissions, urban population and GDP per capita in these two European regions. The study employs cross-sectional dependence, first and second-generation panel unit root tests, Pedroni panel and Westerlund panel cointegration tests, ARDL, Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test to establish the relation among variables. The findings reveal that in both regions, CO 2 emissions are significantly influenced by GDP per capita, urbanization and RES generation. Furthermore, urbanization plays an important role. When examining causality in SEEC, three bidirectional relationships are observed: urbanization and CO 2 , urbanization and GDP, urbanization and generation from RES, and two unidirectional causalities: CO 2 and GDP, generation from RES and CO 2. In contrast, for the NEC, there are two bidirectional causalities: urbanization and CO 2 , urbanization and generation from RES, and two unidirectional causalities: GDP and CO 2 , generation from RES and CO 2. These results highlight the nuanced and varied nature of environmental and economic dynamics across various European regions. • Relationship between CO 2 emissions, GDP per capita and electricity production from RES. • Investigating two groups of EU countries located in the North and SE Europe. • Estimations with Fully Modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares. • Causality and cointegration between variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Investigation of GHG pollutants persistence in Europe and major economic areas. • Mean reversion properties and the integration factor is examined for CO2, CH4, and NO2 (2000-2021) • Empirical evidence of mean reversion in CO2 emissions across all countries. • CH4 and NO2 show reduced persistence and not all countries exhibit mean reversion properties. • These empirical findings highlight policy progress, but underscore the need for further efforts. This paper investigates the persistence of GHG in Europe, evaluating the effectiveness of government policies, including the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Council commitment. Mean reversion properties, and the structure of the integration factor were examined to determine the degree of persistence across markets and assess policy effectiveness. The analysis focuses on CO 2 , CH 4 , and NO 2 pollutants, with monthly data starting in January 2000 and ending in December 2021 from major European countries, and the US, Japan, Brazil, China, and India for comparison purposes. Empirical results show clear evidence of mean reversion in CO 2 emissions observed across all countries, indicating certain degrees of stabilization. Similar patterns are seen for CH 4 , and NO 2 , observing reduced persistence of these pollutants; however not all countries exhibit mean reversion properties. Thus, these findings highlight policy progress in stabilizing GHG emissions, particularly for CO 2 , but underscore the need for further efforts to achieve a substantial emissions reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]