Fanny Kabwe Omoyi epse Essomme

Permanent access to energy is an essential pillar of economic development. However, there is a growing evidence that contemporary energy systems are not able to provide energy to the entire population on a sustainable basis and at affordable prices. In the face of these challenges, renewable energy can play an important role, especially in rural areas where access to centralized electricity grids is difficult. This paper aims to examine the access gaps of enterprises to renewable energy between rural and urban areas in Cameroon. The analysis is based on a sample of 209,482 enterprises, taken from the Second General Census of Enterprises in Cameroon (RGE-2) carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (NIS). The econometric estimations, obtained using the Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition, reveal that access rate to renewable energy for firms in rural areas is lower than that of firms located in urban areas. An increase in the level of education of the promoter of an enterprise, obtaining credit from banks, microfinance and savings, and the formalization of enterprises in rural areas can also contribute to reducing the gap in rural areas in terms of accessing to renewable energy. The discrimination suffered by rural enterprises related to the gender of entrepreneurs, the sector of activity, the business environment and professional experience tend to increase this gap. To reduce this gap, there is a need to promote access to finance for rural enterprises and their migration from the informal to the formal sector.

Previous studies indicate a lack of analysis of pro-environmental behavior adoption in enterprises of various sizes. Very small enterprises, especially in the informal sector, have always been overlooked in the literature, although they are in the majority in most countries. This paper aims to examine the effects of firm size on pro-environmental behavior adoption in Cameroon. The analysis focuses on a sample of 141,926 firms drawn from the Second General Census of Enterprises (RGE-2) in Cameroon (NIS, 2018). The study adopted a statistical and econometrical approach based on the logit model. The results showed that the adoption of pro-environmental behavior increases with firm size. The probability of having a health, safety, and environment system increases by 16.70 points in large enterprises compared to 8.40 points in small enterprises. The probability of having a wastewater management system increases by 5.30 points in large enterprises compared to 2.30 points in small enterprises. The probability of having an air pollution management system increases by 2.20 points in large enterprises compared to 1.50 points in small enterprises. However, company size does not significantly influence the adoption of a solid waste management system. It is recommended to (i) raise awareness among large companies of the challenges of environmental protection and to strengthen controls on compliance with environmental standards, and (ii) to implement actions aimed at the migration of companies from the informal to the formal sector.