This study analyses the cointegration and the causal relationship between energy consumption, economic growth and carbon emissions, using aggregate and disaggregate measures of energy consumption for Algeria, Egypt and South Africa over the period 1971-2015. Based on the ARDL, our results show that aggregate energy consumption and economic growth have positive and significant impacts on carbon dioxide (CO2) both in the long and short run in those countries. At the disaggregated level, the main energy-related drives of carbon emissions are oil, electricity and coal consumption in Algeria, Egypt and South Africa, respectively. In addition, the implementation of the Toda-Yamamoto test for causality reveals the existence of several types of relationship between CO2 emissions, economic growth and energy consumption.