The effect of ICT, financial development, growth, and trade openness on CO2 emissions: an empirical analysis

Carbon reduction scenarios and potential analysis of China's information and communications technology industry

The information and communication technology (ICT) industry plays a vital role in high-quality development process but contributes significantly to carbon emissions due to its high energy consumption. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the factors influencing carbon emissions in the ICT industry to achieve carbon neutrality goal in China. Here, this study calculates the carbon emissions of ICT industry from 2000 to 2021 in China and analyzes factors influencing carbon emissions in the ICT industry by extending the stochastic impacts by regression on population, affluence, and technology (STIRPAT) model. The results show that urbanization, human capital level, economic development level, and fixed asset investment efficiency have a significant positive impact on carbon emissions of the ICT industry. The study also forecasts the evolutionary trends of carbon emissions in the ICT industry from 2022 to 2060 under five scenarios, finding that the ICT industry will achieve carbon peaking in 2030, 2032, and 2033 under all five scenarios, respectively. Under the low-carbon scenario, carbon emissions of the ICT industry will decrease sharply by 2060, and carbon neutrality is expected to be achieved as soon as possible. Therefore, policymakers should increase investment in green technologies in the ICT industry and promote interoperability among sectors.

Investigating business process management on environmental performance considering the mediating role of information technology

Businesses in the current world need to plan in light of rapidly evolving factors including technology, equipment, the competitive market, customers, etc. To address the ever-increasing environmental concerns, corporations have implemented new policies and procedures. In this research, we apply a technological intervention to analyze how the uncertain nature of business management affects environmental performance at Huangshi in Hubei. The study's focus, quantitative nature, and descriptive-analytical approach all make it a subset of applied research. The library study approach is used to gather data for the purpose of compiling theoretical underpinnings and research material. Statistical packages like SPSS and PLS are used to do both descriptive and inferential analyses on the data. The hypothesis was analyzed using structural equation modeling. The study's findings revealed that BPM has a direct, beneficial, and statistically significant impact on corporate operations in terms of their impact on the environment ( β =  0.359, P < 0.05). A good and noticeable impact on environmental performance is also produced by the indirect management of business processes through the mediation of information technology. The path coefficient and t-statistic findings indicated a positive and substantial influence of business process management on information technology. There is a clear and substantial correlation between information technology and environmental performance ( β =  0.381, P < 0.05). Policy implications suggest that integrating BPM with IT solutions can significantly enhance environmental performance.

Is digitalization essential for abating carbon emission growth in South Asia?

Output generation processes across South Asia are deemed unclean (highly emission-intensive) due to excessive reliance on fossil fuels. Thus, decarbonizing the growth processes of countries within this region has critical emphasis among policymakers. However, since the South Asian countries are not yet ready to undergo the renewable energy transition in full form, it is unlikely that their annual carbon discharge levels will subside anytime soon. Under such constraining circumstances, these countries need to limit the rate at which their respective carbon emission levels rise each year. Therefore, the impacts of digitalization on annual carbon emission growth rates in selected South Asian countries are assessed in this study. Overall, considering internet penetration rate as a proxy of digital technology adoption, the results confirm that policies aimed at digitalizing the concerned South Asian economies not only exert emission growth rate-reducing impacts via a direct channel, but also indirectly reduce emission growth rates by making natural resource-based industries more productive, expediting the energy sector greening processes, greening the financial sectors, making corruption controlling measures within institutions more effective, and limiting urbanization-induced environmental quality-worsening effects. Therefore, it is relevant for the South Asian governments to emphasize on digitalization while simultaneously ensuring that green digital technologies are adopted within the major macroeconomic sectors across this region.

Unlocking time-quantile impact of energy vulnerability, financial development, and political globalization on environmental sustainability in Turkey: Evidence from different pollution indicators

Increasing energy vulnerability can cause environmental pollution by increasing fossil fuel consumption. If it leads to cost-cutting-oriented industry growth, financial development can lead to environmental regulations being ignored, compromising environmental quality. Political globalization and economic growth can increase short-term environmental pressures, straining long-term ecological balance and causing habitat loss and pollution. This study investigates the impact of energy vulnerability, financial development, and political globalization on environmental sustainability in Turkey for the 2000-2019 period using with wavelet quantile-based techniques. According to results, while the negative effect of energy vulnerability on environmental quality is lower in the short term, the size of the effect increases in the medium and long term. In addition, at low quantiles of environmental quality, the negative effect of financial development is low in the short and long term, while the effect becomes evident in the long term. Moreover, the effects of political globalization on environmental quality are positive in all quantiles. Additionally, the harmful effects of economic growth are more evident at lower quantiles of environmental quality. Turkey should increase its clean energy investments by using its geographically advantageous location. Policymakers should also prioritize environmental regulations and promote sustainable practices in industries. Incentives for cleaner production technologies and environmentally friendly initiatives can help steer the financial sector towards more responsible and environmentally friendly practices. Additionally, the study suggests that increasing institutional capacity and aligning national policies with international agreements can accelerate the positive effects of political globalization.

Digitalization's contribution towards sustainable development and climate change mitigation: An empirical evidence from EU economies

The current study aims to test the usage of econometric and machine learning approaches to study the relationship between methane (CH4), a hydrocarbon component of natural gas, as a proxy of carbon emission, GDP as economic growth, financial development (FIN), and medium and high technologies as a proxy of information technology (ICT) and human development (HDI). This study observes two extended moderating effect models of human development index and financial development via medium and high technologies on carbon emissions over the 15-year periods from 2007 to 2021 for the 27 EU economies. Results indicate that when considered solely, ICT, economic growth, and HDI improve environmental quality and contribute to climate change mitigation, reducing methane emissions, whereas financial development seems to damage environmental quality. However, the crossed effects of ICT with HDI, and that of ICT with FIN, were considered in estimations, with results pointing out that those favorably affect climate change mitigation. Jointly considering ICT, HDI, and financial development proves to have a synergistic effect in promoting environmental health than each element on its own. Green and yellow countries were also identified revealing the countries for which a reduction and increase, respectively, in the value of methane emissions is predicted after three years. In the case of the entire panel, the STR (linear regression tree) algorithm predicts an average growth in methane emissions of around 3.64 %. Important policy directions are drawn considering the results obtained.

Digital economy and the synergistic governance of pollutants and carbon emissions: Facilitation or obstruction?

As an emerging force enabling high-quality economic development, digital economy (DE) still requires further investigation regarding its impact on synergistic governance of pollutants and carbon emissions (SGPCE). This study examines the impact of DE on SGPCE using two-way fixed effects model, intermediary effect model, and spatial Durbin model using provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020. The research reveals that: (1) DE has a significant promoting effect on SGPCE. (2) Enhancing the degree of green technology innovation is a crucial means of transmission for DE to propel SGPCE. (3) DE additionally exerts a constructive influence on SGPCE in adjacent regions, manifesting a spatial spillover effect. (4) Furthermore, DE demonstrates a notably heightened impact on SGPCE in the western region with respect to regional heterogeneity. Additionally, in the realm of dimension heterogeneity, the industrial digitization yields more favorable dividends for SGPCE compared to digital industrialization. The above conclusions provide novel insights and empirical evidence to validate the connection between DE and SGPCE. It also gives new policy recommendations for China to combat pollution prevention and climate warming under the wave of global digitization.

The crucial roles of ICT, renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality in achieving environmental sustainability in BRICS

The BRICS countries-Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-are committed to achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13, which focuses on mitigating climate change. To attain this goal, it is crucial to emphasize the significance of ICT, renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality. This study contributes to the literature by examining the potential role of these factors in environmental sustainability in the BRICS economies from 2000 to 2021, utilizing cross-sectional augmented autoregressive distributed lag (CS-ARDL) estimation and other novel econometric techniques. Accordingly, the study suggests that BRICS governments and policymakers prioritize the use of ICT in the industrial and institutional sectors to achieve faster environmental sustainability in the short-run, as per the CS-ARDL results. However, the study advises caution in the long-term as the interaction between ICT and renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality may not favour environmental quality. Although the renewable energy sources interaction with ICT may not yield immediate progress, strong measures need to be taken to ensure that short-term gains are not nullified. In conclusion, the study highlights the potential of ICT, renewable energy sources, industrialization, and institutional quality in achieving environmental sustainability in the BRICS countries, while recommending cautious measures in the long run to safeguard the progress made.

Impact path of digital economy on carbon emission efficiency: Mediating effect based on technological innovation

The digital economy (DIE), a new economic form with digitalization at its core, has become an important driving force for promoting regional economy development. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the impact path of the DIE on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) is conducive to giving full play to the "carbon-reduction-and-efficiency-enhancement" role of the DIE, and to promoting the realization the "dual carbon" goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In this paper, the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) are taken as study areas, the panel Tobit model is used to explore the impact of the DIE on CEE, and the intermediary-effect model and threshold-effect model are constructed to test the intermediary and threshold effects of technological innovation, respectively. The results show that the DIE has a U-shaped nonlinear impact on CEE in both the YRB and the YREB and that the impact has regional heterogeneity. Technological innovation can play a mediating effect between the DIE and CEE, whereas the mediating effect in the YRB is stronger than that in the YREB. Technological innovation has a threshold effect on the DIE to improve CEE, while the threshold value in the YREB is higher than that in the YRB. Furthermore, this paper proposes some suggestions to guide regional low-carbon and sustainable development.

Digitization and carbon emissions: how does the development of China's digital economy affect carbon intensity?

The digital economy and the pursuit of carbon peak and carbon neutrality have emerged as crucial focal points for China's future development. However, the intricate relationship between the digital economy and carbon intensity remains uncertain. Based on the construction of the digital economy evaluation index system, using panel data for 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019, this study estimates the impact of the digital economy development on carbon intensity by adopting the system-generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM) technique. The results show that the digital economy can effectively reduce the carbon intensity. This conclusion was supported by robustness tests. However, the carbon emission reduction effect of the digital economy exhibits heterogeneity with respect to the digital economy dimensions and regions. In addition to digital industrialization and industrial digitization reducing the carbon intensity, the digital economy development carrier has an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship with carbon intensity. Additionally, the digital economy has a more obvious inhibitory effect on carbon intensity in the eastern region. Most importantly, besides the mediating effects of technological progress and financial development, this paper finds that the digital economy can increase carbon intensity through human capital accumulation. These conclusions provide a certain scientific basis for the effective implementation of China's digital economy and carbon peak and carbon-neutral development strategy.

Investigating the role of smart technologies, financial, and environmental innovations in tackling the ecological sustainability: a global pathway toward low carbon energy transition

Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the rapid development of modern technologies has brought unprecedented social prosperity to mankind as technologies penetrate every sector of the economy. These technologies have given a new dimension to the energy sector. The key purpose of this study is to investigate the crucial impact of technological revolutions, namely, smart grids, smart devices, financial innovations, and environmental innovations, on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). To this end, the study utilized data from European, Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries and employed first- and second-generation methods, such as DOLS, FMOLS, and CS-ARDL models. The research shows that smart grids are the only factor in reducing GHGs, regardless of geographic division. Hence, linking smart grid resources to climate change goals requires short-term deployment strategies with a clear long-term vision and the fundamental goal of transforming the power structure into a net zero-emission system. The study also demonstrates that the emergence of ICT in electricity consumption has not yet reached a level that can promote environmental excellence. The study documented the critical role of financial innovation and environmental innovation in addressing environmental degradation.

The Collision of digital and green: Digital transformation and green economic efficiency

Enhancing the green economy efficiency (GEE) is crucial for building a sustainable economy. How can the rapidly advancing digital transformation contribute to this process? The paper empirically examines the direct and spatial spillover effects of digital transformation on cities' GEE in China. This study utilizes the National E-commerce Pilot City (NEPC) policy as a quasi-natural experiment of regional digital transformation and employs the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) method with heterogeneous effects. The findings reveal that (i) implementing the NEPC policy significantly increases urban GEE by 2.6%, corresponding to a 16% increase in the mean of GEE. This effect is particularly pronounced in non-resource-based cities and cities with high Internet penetration. (ii) The mechanism test shows that the pilot policy positively affects GEE by promoting green structural transformation, enhancing green innovation, and strengthening public environmental concerns. (iii) The study highlights a positive spatial spillover effect of the NEPC policy on the GEE of nonpilot cities. (iv) The adoption of the NEPC plays a pivotal role in advancing energy use and carbon emission efficiency. This paper expands the existing knowledge on the green development effects of the digital economy while offering valuable policy insights for building an "Inclusive Green Economy".

Toward a low carbon path: Do E-commerce reduce CO2 emissions? Evidence from China

To address global climate change, achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality has become a global consensus. However, the means to simultaneously achieve carbon reduction and promote green economic development, particularly in developing countries, require further investigation. This study evaluates the impact of e-commerce on CO2 emissions. Through an examination of the effects of the National E-Commerce Demonstration City (NEDC) policy from 2006 to 2017, this paper reveals that e-commerce growth facilitated by the NEDC policy resulted in a 7.89% reduction in total CO2 emissions and a per capita reduction of 1.1146 tons in the pilot cities. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that the upgrading of industrial structure, development of digital finance, and the growth of innovation and entrepreneurship serve as primary pathways for this impact. The robustness of the findings is supported by parallel trend tests, placebo tests, and additional sensitivity analyses. Furthermore, the research reveals that the NEDC policy exhibits a more significant reduction in CO2 emissions in cities with higher levels of economic development and non-resource-based cities. Welfare analyses show that the NEDC policy has significant socio-economic effects. These findings provide new evidence on the environmental effects of the digital economy and offer insights into achieving carbon neutrality.

Does ICT influence carbon emissions in the context of universal connectivity: a global perspective?

The Connect 2030 initiative, launched by the International Telecommunication Union, is in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations Agenda 2030. Its main objective is to achieve universal connectivity, a goal that is closely related to environmental issues. This topic currently receives attention from researchers and policymakers. Given these considerations, our study investigates the impact of information and communication technologies on carbon dioxide emissions for a panel of 84 countries spanning the years 2009 to 2020. Using principal component analysis, we construct an ICT index that encompasses international bandwidth, reflecting the universal connectivity, and participation in international data exchanges. The empirical analysis applies the pooled mean group-panel autoregressive distributive lag (PMG-ARDL) approach to estimate both the long-run and short-run coefficients of CO2 emissions' determinants. Our findings show that ICT and renewable energy mitigate CO2 emissions, unlike financial development, GDP, and non-renewable energy, which contribute significantly to emissions for the full sample. These outcomes suggest that promoting ICTs in general and international bandwidth in particular, as part of universal connectivity, improves the quality of the global environment.

Evaluating the impact of technological innovation and energy efficiency on load capacity factor: empirical analysis of India

The determinants of environmental degradation have been investigated many times by utilizing carbon dioxide emissions and/or ecological footprint. However, these traditional environmental degradation indicators do not consider the supply side of environmental problems. Therefore, this study focuses on the dynamic influence of financial development, energy efficiency, economic growth, and technological innovation on environmental degradation in India through the load capacity factor, including both the supply and demand sides of environmental problems. For that purpose, the recently developed dynamically simulated autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) method is employed using the annual time-series data extending from 1980-2020. The dynamically simulated ARDL results demonstrate that financial development, economic growth, and technological innovation have a dynamic adverse impact on the load capacity factor, whereas energy efficiency has a positive dynamic influence on environmental quality. In addition, the results support the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis as the negative effect of economic growth on environmental quality decreases over time. Based on the study findings, policy recommendations are provided for India. Finally, this study utilizing load capacity factor as an indicator for environmental quality will provide new topics in exploring the determinants of environmental degradation.

Can digitalization reduce industrial pollution? Roles of environmental investment and green innovation

Industrialized nations have witnessed a decline in environmental quality over the years. The potential of digitalization in mitigating environmental pollution is of significant interest. Drawing on firm-level data from listed Chinese companies between 2010 and 2020, including pollutant and financial metrics, this study investigates the influence of digitalization on industrial environmental pollution. We found that digitalization substantially diminishes the intensity of industrial pollution emissions. These findings hold even after employing instrumental variable tests, substituting the dependent variable with carbon dioxide emissions, and conducting a quasi-natural experiment in intelligent manufacturing. Moreover, our exploration of the underlying mechanisms reveals that the decline in pollution emission intensity attributable to digitalization stems from both structural and technological factors; specifically, it enhances environmental investment and fosters green innovation. The benefits of digitalization in curbing emission intensity are pronounced for firms characterized by lower pollution levels, executive leadership with environmental work backgrounds, heightened capital intensity, and elevated media coverage.

How does Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry agglomeration affect carbon emission efficiency? Evidence from China

The Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry takes on critical significance in promoting economic development and reducing carbon emissions. From the agglomeration perspective, how the ICT industry agglomeration affects carbon emission efficiency (CEE) in 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2020 is innovatively investigated. We measured CEE using a dynamic directional distance function-based DEA model. Then, based on the research hypotheses, the specific impact and transmission mechanism of ICT industrial agglomeration on CEE are revealed using a spatial Dubin model and a threshold panel model. The results show that: (1) the ICT industry agglomeration exerts a remarkable inverted "U-shaped" effect on CEE. This non-linear effect is significant in the eastern and central regions, but not in the western region. (2) ICT industry agglomeration can affect CEE in neighboring regions. The spatial spillover effect shows an inverted "U-shaped" in the central region, positive in the western region, and insignificant in the eastern region. (3) when green technology innovation exceeds the threshold value (4.948), ICT industry agglomeration positively affects CEE, and when energy structure exceeds the threshold value (0.389), their marginal effects are significantly negative. The threshold effect also shows regional heterogeneity. This research proposes policy recommendations focusing on accelerating the ICT industry transformation, leveraging the spillover and technological advantages of agglomeration, and enhancing regional cooperation.

Digital economy, industrial transformation and upgrading, and spatial transfer of carbon emissions: The paths for low-carbon transformation of Chinese cities

Under the background of increasingly fierce global economic competition and severe climate change, seeking new soft resource input is the key for China to break through the bottleneck of economic transformation. Based on the data from 278 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2019, multi-dimensional empirical tests were conducted to investigate the relationship between digital economy (DE) and spatial transfer of carbon emissions (CE). The results show that DE directly reduced CE. Mechanism analysis shows that DE reduced CE through local industrial transformation and upgrading (ITU). Spatial analysis shows that DE reduced local CE while aggravating neighboring CE. The spatial transfer of CE was attributed to the fact that when DE promoted the local ITU, it induced the transfer of the backward and polluting industries to neighboring regions, resulting in the spatial transfer of CE. Moreover, the spatial transfer effect of CE was maximum at 200 km. However, in recent years, rapid DE development has weakened the spatial transfer effect of CE. The results can provide insights into understanding the carbon refuge effect of industrial transfer in China in the context of DE and facilitate formulating appropriate industrial policies to promote inter-regional carbon reduction synergy. Thus, this study can provide a theoretical reference for achieving the dual-carbon target of China and the green economic recovery of other developing countries.

Impact of Internet development on carbon emission efficiency under carbon neutral target: evidence from global 58 economies

With the introduction of economy carbon neutral target policies one after another worldwide, the carbon emission reduction actions of economies around the world have become a hot topic attracting international attention. Meanwhile, the role of the Internet in energy saving and emissions reduction in economies around the world is also becoming more prominent. However, for now, there is still a lack of in-depth research on the impact and role relationship between Internet development and global economy carbon emission efficiency. Therefore, based on the availability of data, this study used the Malmquist index based on game intersection to measure and analyze carbon emission efficiency based on 58 economies around the world that proposed carbon neutrality targets between 2000 and 2019. The study used a spatial econometric model to explore the impact of Internet development on carbon emission efficiency. The objective was to provide a policy reference for high-, medium-, and low-income economies worldwide to achieve their carbon neutrality targets as soon as possible. The results of the study showed that carbon emission efficiency was closely linked to economic development level in economies around the world, that the gap between the development levels of high- and low-Internet-connected economies is gradually widening, that Internet development significantly improved carbon emission efficiency, that levels of economic and financial development played a mediating role in the relationship between Internet development and carbon emissions efficiency, and that the level of urbanization played a moderating role in the relationship between Internet development and carbon emissions efficiency. Exploring the influence and the mechanism of action between Internet development and carbon emission efficiency will contribute to early achievement of global carbon neutrality targets in all economies.

Industrialization, globalization, ICT, and environmental degradation in Malaysia: A frequency domain analysis

This paper examines the causal relationship between industrialization, globalization, information communication technology (ICT) and environmental degradation in Malaysia during 1970-2019. It uses two indicators of environmental degradation (carbon emissions and ecological footprint), three dimensions of globalization (political, social, and economic) and three indicators of ICT (users of internet, mobile cellular, and fixed telephone subscriptions). It utilizes Granger causality technique in frequency domain which differentiates between permanent and temporary causality, Vector Error Correction approach as well as Variance Decompositions. The bound test shows that the variables have cointegration relationship. It reveals joint long-run and short-run causality from industrialization, globalization, and ICT to carbon emissions, albeit the causality to ecological footprint is tenuous. It indicates that industrialization, globalization, and ICT significantly predict carbon emissions at high frequency than at low frequency. A substantial percentage of the forecast error variance in environmental degradation are explained by industrialization, globalization, and ICT. The robustness of the empirical outcomes is confirmed by the alternative proxies of the variables. Our study implies that industrialization, globalization, and ICT are determinants of environmental degradation. Therefore, policies to mitigate environmental problem should prioritize these variables to attain green economy.

The impact of environmentally related taxes and productive capacities on climate change: Insights from european economic area countries

In a world increasingly threatened by climate change and its associated risks, there's an urgent need to actively seek solutions for environmental protection and sustainable economic development. Central to this effort is understanding the role of environmental taxes and productive capacities in shaping environmental outcomes. Focusing on countries within the European Economic Area (EEA), this research uses advanced second-generation econometric techniques to examine this relationship. The use of cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lag (CS-ARDL) and dynamic common correlated effects (DCCE) models allows for a robust examination of panel data and provides reliable results. The results reveal an inverted U-shaped relationship, or Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), between GDP growth and environmental degradation in the EEA economies. Furthermore, while our data reveal a significant negative correlation between environmental taxes and CO2 emissions, we find that productive capacities have a more significant impact on reducing these emissions. These findings call for further research into the effectiveness of policies to support productive capacities in achieving environmental protection goals in the EEA.

Investigating the impact of transportation system and economic growth on carbon emissions: Application of GMM System for 33 european countries

In Europe, there has been a significant shift in the movement of people and things. Nonetheless, despite the fact that transportation is an important component of the supply chain, its environmental consequences pose a severe threat to the ecosystem as a whole. As a result, we intend to explore the relationship between transportation, economy, and CO2 emissions. We used the Static method with Pooled OLS, then tested the Granger causality to validate the use of dynamic approach via the GMM system. The major findings revealed that GDP and trade openness had a considerable impact on CO2 emissions. Although the three modes of transportation have different effects on CO2 emissions, road density has a positive and considerable impact on CO2 emissions. The railway network is inversely connected to CO2 emissions. While the quantity of flight passengers has no substantial effect on emissions. In terms of the impulse response function, there is an initial shock in period 2 for the response of air passengers carried to CO2 emissions, followed by convergence back to zero in period 6, whereas road density has a slight decrease in period 2 with a post shock peak in period 4, followed by convergence back to zero in period 5. The variance decomposition results reveal a little increase until the fifth period for road density, air passengers, and trade openness with coefficients equal to 0.0893, 0.636, and 1.573, respectively, after which these three variables offer decreasing coefficients.

The synergistic effect of digital economy and manufacturing structure upgrading on carbon emissions reduction: Evidence from China

Promoting the integration of the digital economy with the manufacturing-based real economy is beneficial to avoid the detachment of economic development from tangible industries. Whether the low-carbon transformation can be achieved in this integration process is also an important issue. So, taking China for instance, we theoretically analyze the impact mechanism of the integration of the digital economy with three major categories of manufacturing (labor-intensive, capital-intensive, and technology-intensive) on carbon emissions, and empirically test those effects based on 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The development of the digital economy can reduce carbon emissions. (2) The integration of the digital economy with different categories within the manufacturing industry causes different effects on carbon emissions reduction, shown as a structural upgrading type of carbon emissions reduction, i.e., the deeper integration between digital economy and technology-intensive manufacturing contributes to a multiplier effect in carbon emissions reduction. (3) The efficiency improvements benefited from the integration with the digital economy in technology-intensive manufacturing are the main reason for the structural upgrading type of carbon emissions reduction. Therefore, policy should aim at accelerating the integration of the digital economy with advanced manufacturing to realize comprehensive low-carbon transformation.

Role of information and communication technology, economic growth, financial development and renewable energy consumption towards the sustainable environment: Insights from ASEAN countries

The objective of this study is to examine the effect of information and communication technology, economic growth, renewable energy consumption, and financial development on carbon dioxide emissions in selected ASEAN countries. The PMG (Pooled Mean Group) estimator is used to panel data from 1991 to 2020 to examine both the short-run and long-run impacts. The findings indicate that ICT and financial development contribute to environmental deterioration, in the long run, their influence on CO2 emissions in the short run is insignificant. On the other hand, the use of renewable energy has a long- and short-term favorable impact on environmental quality. Furthermore, it is discovered that economic growth increases CO2 emissions, but squared economic growth reduces CO2 emissions, confirming the inverted U-shaped EKC theory. The Granger causality test indicates that renewable energy and CO2 emissions are bidirectionally causal, but information and communication technology and financial development are unidirectionally causal to CO2 emissions. According to the findings, the governments of these nations must reduce carbon emissions from internet usage and invest in renewable energy sources to control environmental deterioration.

Green finance, the low-carbon energy transition, and environmental pollution: evidence from China

With 2008-2020 China's provincial panel data as the research object, we use the entropy weight method to compute green finance and pollution, and we empirically study the scope of the spillover effects and threshold impacts of green finance on environmental pollution using the spatial Durbin model and threshold regression model. The findings are as follows: first, under different spatial weight matrices, green finance has a spatial spillover effect on pollution. And the effect boundary is approximately 500 km. Second, with the low-carbon energy transition, technological progress, and green finance as threshold variables, there are a single threshold, single threshold, and double threshold, respectively, that have significant threshold effects. Third, the spillover and threshold effects of green finance on pollution differ by region. The indirect effect is negative in the eastern region and positive in the central and western regions. There is a single threshold effect of low-carbon energy transition and green finance in the western region, a single threshold effect of green finance in the central region, and a single threshold effect of technological progress in the eastern region. On this basis, we put forward. specific policy recommendations.

Decarbonization through sustainable energy technologies: Asymmetric evidence from 20 most innovative nations across the globe

Since the discharge of carbon is one of the main causes for ongoing global warming issue and change in climate, most nations have committed to decarbonizing their economies at the COP26 summit. Thus, this investigation aims to explore the consequences of innovations in sustainable energy technologies on decarbonization in the 20 most innovative nations across the globe. In assessing the cause-and-effect relationship, we have used “Panel Non-linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (P-NARDL)” technique. The findings demonstrated that the variables have a lasting relationship. The positive asymmetric shock in the innovations in sustainable energy technologies has a positive influence on the decarbonization of these nations, while the negative asymmetric effect is insignificant. According to the findings, clean energy negatively consequence on carbonization whereas growth in economy is favorably and considerably connected with it. The findings demonstrate that there is bidirectional causation between all variables under investigation, with the exception of the unidirectional causality flows from the usage of sustainable energy technology and emissions of CO2. In a global context, this research suggests that government should identify the roles of new sustainable energy technologies by reforming patenting regulations to rectify the environmental damages.

On the urban resource and environment carrying capacity in China: A sustainable development paradigm

As urbanization progresses, the number of resource and environmental problems that impede sustainable growth in cities is increasing. The urban resource and environment carrying capacity (URECC) serves as a crucial indicator for understanding the interaction between human activities and urban resource and environmental systems, guiding the practice of sustainable urban development. Thus, accurately comprehending and analyzing the URECC and coordinating the balanced growth of the economy and the URECC is essential to ensure cities' sustainable development. In this research, we combine DMSP/OLS and NPP/VIIRS night-time light data to assess the economic growth of Chinese cities using panel data for 282 prefecture-level cities in China from 2007 to 2019. The findings reveal the following outcomes: (1) Economic growth significantly contributes to the enhancement of the URECC, and the economic expansion of neighboring areas also promotes the URECC within the region. Economic growth can indirectly improve the URECC by fostering internet development, industrial upgrading, technological progress, opening up opportunities, and educational advancements. (2) The results from the threshold regression analysis suggest that as the level of internet development improves, the influence of economic growth on the URECC is initially constrained and then facilitated. Similarly, as financial development improves, the effect of economic growth on the URECC is initially constrained and subsequently promoted, with the promotion effect gradually increasing. (3) The relationship between economic expansion and the URECC varies across regions with different geographic locations, administrative levels, scales, and resource endowments.

Do financial development and renewable energy shocks matter for environmental quality: evidence from top 10 emitting emissions countries

Creating a reliable energy supply, ecological quality, and economic development has become a global effort. Finance is at the center stage ecological transition to low-carbon emission. Against this backdrop, the present work analyses the impact of the financial sector on CO₂ emissions using data from the top 10 emitting emissions economies from 1990 to 2018. Using the novel method of moments quantile regression, the findings illustrate that renewable energy usage enhances ecological quality while economic growth lowers it. The results also affirm that financial development is positively linked with carbon emission in the top 10 emitting emissions economies. These results can be explained by the fact that financial development facilities offer low borrowing rates with less restrictions for environmental sustainability projects. The empirical findings of this study highlight the necessity for policies that boost the proportion of clean energy consumption in the top 10 polluting nations' overall energy mix to reduce carbon emissions. It follows that the financial sectors in these nations must invest in cutting-edge energy-efficient technology and clean, green, and environmentally friendly initiatives. This trend will increase productivity, improve energy efficiency, and reduce pollution.

The asymmetric effect of ICT on CO2 emissions in the context of an EKC framework in GCC countries: the role of energy consumption, energy intensity, trade, and financial development

This study examines how "information and communication technology (ICT)" affects carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations asymmetrically, controlling energy consumption, its intensity, trade, and financial development following an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) approach. It employs panel data covering 1995-2019, 2^nd generation unit root, Westerlund cointegration tests, nonlinear pooled mean group (PMG) estimate, and Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality check. The Westerlund test validates a long-run association among variables. The study confirms the EKC proposition for the GCC countries. It reveals that a decrease in CO₂ emissions is associated with both positive and negative parts of ICT and the expansion of financial development. While per capita GDP increases pollution, squared GDP per capita reduces it; energy consumption, intensity, and trade amplify carbon emissions. D-H causality check yields several bidirectional and one-way causalities and verifies the robustness of PMG outcomes. Our findings suggest that promoting ICT becomes one of the critical techniques to decrease CO₂ emissions in GCC nations due to its significant negative influence on CO₂ emissions.

From COVID to conflict: Understanding the deriving forces of environment and implications for natural resources

In the contemporary world, the importance of natural resources is increasing day by day especially due to extraordinary circumstances, i.e., COVID-19 and global conflicts. The abundance of natural resource is considered competitive advantage and crucial for sustainable development. However, the role of natural resources can be questionable especially if its impact on the economy is negative. Sustainable use of natural resources is currently the biggest challenge for governance. Following these footprints, the study aims to revisit a novel perspective of natural resources in the context of global conflicts using data from Asian economies for the period of 1996-2020. In this pursuit, this study investigates how governance balances macroeconomic variables with sustainable development to account for effective climate change adaptation, mitigation efforts and integral to control conflicts. The second-generation test of CIPS and CADF are used to deal with cross-sectional dependence issues and Westerlund cointegration to estimate long-run relationships. Furthermore, the long-run coefficients are estimated by the PMG estimator using dynamic panel ARDL approach. The findings confirm that surpassing the threshold level of governance is essential to promote environmental quality and preservation of natural resources. The region needs to promote steward policy for resources. This can take the form of nationalizing resource assets, increasing taxes and royalties on resource extraction to ensure sustainable development. The handlers need to design polices supportive to renewable energy consumption, endorse IT based industry solution, encourage high-tech inward FDI, promote green financing and support sustainable development.

Renewable energy for achieving environmental sustainability: institutional quality and information and communication technologies as moderating factors

The environmental challenges are currently placed at the forefront in order to achieve sustainable development. Although existing studies have largely examined the underlying factors of the environmental sustainability, the institutional quality and the role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) still insufficiently investigated. The aim of this paper is to clarify the role played by institutional quality and ICTs to mitigate environmental degradation at different scales of the ecological gap. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to examine whether the quality of institutions and ICTs consolidate the contribution of renewable energy to reduce the ecological gap and thereby, promote environmental sustainability. The results of panel quantile regression applied to fourteen selected Middle East (ME) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries from 1984 to 2017 showed that the rule of law, control of corruption, Internet use, and mobile use exert no beneficial effects on environmental sustainability. The ICTs and the institutional development through the presence of an appropriate regulatory framework and the control of corruption have rather advantageous moderating effects on the environmental quality. Indeed, our findings revealed that the effects of renewable energy consumption on the environmental sustainability are positively moderated by the control of corruption, Internet use, and mobile use for countries with medium and high ecological gaps. The beneficial ecological effects of renewable energy are also moderated by the presence of a solid regulatory framework, but only for countries with high ecological gaps. In addition, our results showed that financial development promotes environmental sustainability in countries with low ecological gaps. Urbanization has perverse effects on the environment across all quantiles. The results found lead to important practical implications for preserving the environment as it suggests designing ICTs and improving the quality of institutions oriented to renewable energy sector in order to reduce the ecological gap. In addition, the findings from this paper can serve decision-makers in terms of environmental sustainability given the globalizing and conditional approach followed.

The environmental effects of digital economy: evidence from province-level empirical data in China

The environment is the foundation for human existence, and the digital economy has exacerbated the impact of human beings on the environment. Based on data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, we used the spatial Durbin model to research the impact of the digital economy on the environment and its spatiotemporal characteristics. We found that the digital economy has a significant positive impact on the environmental effects of the region, and also has a positive spatial overflow. This conclusion still holds after robustness test and endogenous treatment (changing the space weight matrix, applying the instrumental variables, and two-stage least-squares method). Second, we found that environmental effects of the digital economy have a time lag, and the lag decreases gradually over time. Third, we used geographically and temporally weighted regression model and K-means clustering, which shows that digital economy has a strong effect on the environment in western region. The western region may need to increase digital infrastructure construction to achieve better environmental effects. In addition, China needs to upgrade its industrial structure as soon as possible, accelerate technological innovation, and advocate a green lifestyle, so as to realize the coordinated development of human beings and nature.

Industrial co-agglomeration, Internet utilization, and the development of green and low-carbon cycle - based on the empirical study of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta of China

The construction of green and low-carbon circular (GLC) development economic system is conducive to the promotion of "carbon peaking and carbon neutral." The level of GLC development in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region is related to the realization of the ambitious goal of "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" in the region. This paper use principal component analysis (PCA) to process GLC development level of 41 cities in the YRD from 2008 to 2020. Then, we constructed panel Tobit model and threshold model from the perspective of industrial co-agglomeration and Internet utilization and empirically tested the influence of the two key variables on GLC development of the YRD. We found that (1) the YRD's level of GLC development showed a dynamic evolution trend of "fluctuation, convergence, and rise." The four provincial-level administrative regions of the YRD are in the order of  GLC development level: Shanghai, Zhejiang, Jiangsu, and Anhui. (2) There is an inverted "U" Kuznets curve (KC) between industrial co-agglomeration and the development of GLC of the YRD. In the left segment of KC, the industrial co-agglomeration promotes GLC development of the YRD. In the right segment of KC, the industrial co-agglomeration inhibits GLC development of the YRD. Internet utilization enhances GLC development of the YRD. And the interaction of industrial co-agglomeration and Internet utilization cannot significantly enhance GLC development. (3) Double-threshold effect of opening-up is manifested as follows: industrial co-agglomeration on GLC development of the YRD goes through an insignificant-inhibited-improved evolutionary trajectory. Single-threshold effect of government intervention is manifested as follows: the impact of Internet utilization on GLC development of the YRD shifts from insignificant role to significant enhancement. In addition, there is an inverted-N type KC effect between industrialization and GLC development. Based on the above findings, we proposed suggestions in terms of industrial co-agglomeration, Internet-like digital technology application, anti-monopoly, and rational industrialization.

Do banking sector development, economic growth, and clean energy consumption scale up green finance investment for a sustainable environment in South Asia: evidence for newly developed RALS co-integration

Concern about climate change is spreading around the globe. The urge to comprehend the environmental effects and take action is sharply rising. Regarding this, the banking industry has a great chance to offer a solution in terms of green financial solutions and can meet the needs of carbon-conscious organizations to combat and defend our planet. Therefore, in light of this, according to the greatest understanding of the authors, this is the first study to investigate the role of banking sector development, economic growth, and clean energy consumption in scaling up green finance investment in South Asian nations, taking carbon emissions, foreign direct investment, remittances, inflation, and trade openness as control variables. This study uses a novel residual augmented least squares-Engle and Granger (RALS-EG) co-integration to test the long-term link and the quantile autoregressive distributed lag (QARDL) econometric approach to extract the association across the quantiles (q0.05-q0.95) for the period 2000-2020. The outcomes of QARDL show that banking sector development, economic growth, clean energy, carbon emissions, foreign direct investment, remittances, and trade openness play a positive role in attracting green finance in the long term. However, only inflation has a negative influence on scaling up finance in South Asian nations. Therefore, the concerned authorities (government, central banks, environmentalists, and policymakers) are urged to implement green finance policies and strategies as suggested and recommended by the results of this study.

Information and communication technology, institutional quality, and environmental sustainability in ASEAN countries

Concerns regarding climate change pollution have remained critical in achieving sustainable development goals. However, countries are still having difficulty reducing environmental deterioration, requiring substantial attention. Hence, this study evaluates the effect of information and communication technology (ICT), institutional quality, economic growth, and energy consumption on ecological footprint under the environment Kuznets curve (EKC) framework in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries from 1990 to 2018. Moreover, this study also checks the impact of an interaction term (ICT and institutional quality) on ecological footprint. We utilized cross-section dependence, cross-section unit root, and Westerlund's cointegration tests for the econometric investigation to check cross-section dependence, stationarity, and cointegration among parameters. For long and short run estimation, we used pooled mean group (PMG) estimator. PMG outcomes demonstrate that the ICT and institutional quality clean the environment by mitigating the ecological footprint. Further, the joint impact of ICT and institutional quality also moderate environmental degradation. Moreover, economic growth and energy consumption increase the ecological footprint. In addition, empirical outcomes also support the presence of the EKC hypothesis in ASEAN countries. The empirical outcomes suggest that environmental sustainability's sustainable development goal can be achieved through ICT innovation and diffusion and by improving the intuitional quality framework.

Impact of digital infrastructure inputs on industrial carbon emission intensity: evidence from China's manufacturing panel data

Digital infrastructure inputs (DIIs) are vital in strengthening the framework for developing the digital economy and encouraging economic growth. Nonetheless, the risks of environmental contamination are pervasively caused by the rapid expansion and utilization of digital infrastructure. Assessing the carbon emission intensity (CEI) and level of the DIIs of 18 manufacturing in China as the research subject, this study discusses the heterogeneous behavior of various input sources and industries. Furthermore, a two-way fixed effects model, threshold effects model, mediating effects model and moderated mediation effects model have been adopted to examine the nexus between DIIs and CEI of manufacturing. The results show that (1) DIIs raise China's manufacturing CEI and exert a non-linear threshold effect. (2) From the perspective of national attributes, the foreign DIIs will put more pressure on reducing the CEI in China. From the perspective of industry characteristics, DIIs are the most unfavorable for low-carbon development in capital-intensive industries. (3) Due to the mediating effect of total factor productivity (TFP), the positive influence of DIIs on CEI has dramatically diminished. (4) Participation in the global value chain (PAR) and foreign direct investment (FDI) exert moderating effects in the process of the direct effect and mediating effects. In light of the aforementioned conclusions, specific recommendations for developing digital infrastructure and reducing carbon emissions are proposed.

The role of environmental protection expenditures and renewable energy consumption in the context of ecological challenges: Insights from the European Union with the novel panel econometric approach

In line with the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs), countries are taking action to achieve their carbon reduction goals. Because countries have limited financial resources, it is important for carbon reduction policies that public expenditure is used effectively. Researchers have neglected to probe the environmental quality in European Union countries by considering environmental protection expenditure and renewable energy consumption. This study expands the literature by investigating the impact of renewable energy consumption and environmental protection expenditure on the load capacity factor, which considers both the supply and demand directions of the environment. Hence, this work contributes to the SDG 7 (affordable and clean energy), SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation), and SDG 15 (life on land) targets of European Union-22 countries. The study uses the CS-ARDL approach, which considers cross-sectional dependence, endogeneity, and heterogeneity. Empirical analysis showed that environmental protection expenditure is insufficient for European Union economies. In addition, renewable energy consumption contributed to environmental quality. Based on the outcomes, European Union countries should allocate larger budgets from their general budgets for environmental protection. Policies that can attract the attention of the private sector and not just the public sector should be implemented.

Modelling natural gas, renewables-sourced electricity, and ICT trade on economic growth and environment: evidence from top natural gas producers in Africa

Addressing extensive global goals including growing energy-sourced electricity and advancing sustainable development plans strongly depends on natural gas as a transition fuel to renewable forms of energy. Therefore, by using pooled, random, and fixed-effects models, the current study investigates the effects of electricity sourced from natural gas (ENG), renewable energy (RE), and trade in information and communication technologies (ICTs) on economic growth and carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in Africa's top three natural gas producers, Algeria, Egypt, and Nigeria, from 1990 to 2020. The findings indicate that CO₂, ENG, ICT trade, and urbanization (UP) are all strongly and positively correlated to economic progress, with the exception of RE, which has an insignificant influence. For the environment, data indicate that RE and GDP degrade the environment while ENG and ICT trade boost it. The causality results that ENG and RE cause both economic growth and CO₂ emissions. Based on these empirical results, it is recommended that policymakers should step up their efforts to usage natural gas as a transition fuel to renewable energy sources and acknowledge the advantages of the significant contribution that green ICT trade can make to economic advancement and a clean environment.

The effects of financial development and technological progress on environmental sustainability: novel evidence from Asian countries

This research is an endeavor to improve the literature on information and communication technology (ICT)-financial development-environmental sustainability nexus by conducting an aggregated and disaggregated analysis on the role of financial development and technological progress in attaining a sustainable environment. By employing a unique and comprehensive set of financial development and ICT indicators, this study offers an in-depth analysis of the role of financial development, ICT, and especially their interactions in maintaining environmental sustainability in 30 Asian economies from 2006 to 2020. Results from the two-step system generalized method of moments indicate that separately, both financial development and ICT are detrimental but together, their joint effects are beneficial to the environment. Several policy implications and recommendations are made to help policymakers to craft, design, and implement appropriate policies to improve environmental quality.

The role of GICT and environmental regulation in affecting ecological footprint

Research studies have recently diverted attention towards the determinant of ecological footprints, but related issues have not provided consistent results. Based on the IPAT model (environmental impact (I) is decomposed into three elements: population (P), affluence (A, economic growth), and technology level (T)), this paper empirically explores the validity of the green information and communication technology (GICT)-induced environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. The research applies a quantile regression (QR) that tests over 95 countries' panel data for the period 2000-2017 by using six types of ecological footprint (EF) as environmental degradation indicators and environmental regulations (ERs) as interaction variables. We confirm the vital role that GICT plays in lessening cropland, forest area, and grazing land, while increasing its impact on built-up land. Additionally, the findings partially support the existence of an inverted U-shaped GICT-induced environmental EKC hypothesis for a decreasing impact on cropland, forest area, and grazing land via consideration of non-market-based ER as the interaction term. GICT does not notably reduce carbon-absorption land usage; however, improvements of GICT and non-market-based ER in those nations have been accompanied by lower environmental degradation.

Can Internet Construction Promote Urban Green Development? A Quasi-Natural Experiment from the "Broadband China"

Broadband, as a key element of Internet infrastructure, plays an important role in breaking down barriers to the flow of production factors and promoting green economic transformation. Using the "Broadband China" strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study examines the impact and mechanisms of Internet infrastructure on urban green development by constructing a multi-period Difference-in-Differences (DID) model based on panel data from 277 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2009 to 2019. The results show that the "Broadband China" pilot policy significantly promotes urban green development, with green technological innovation and talent aggregation playing important moderating roles. However, there is a certain lag in the impact of the "Broadband China" pilot policy on urban green development. Furthermore, our heterogeneity analysis suggests that the promotion of the "Broadband China" pilot policy for urban green development mainly exists in central cities, large-scale cities, and resource-based cities, as opposed to surrounding cities, small-scale cities, and non-resource-based cities. The above findings clarify the impact of Internet construction on urban green development and provide a theoretical and practical exploration for achieving a win-win situation of high-quality urban development and environmental protection.

How do financial inclusion and renewable energy collaborate with Environmental quality? Evidence for top ten countries in technological advancement

The environmental situation of our planet is seriously degraded due to the massive spread of greenhouse gases. Several aspects can influence the quality of the environment. The present study debates the effect of financial inclusion (FI) and renewable energy consumption (REC) on the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions of the top ten countries in technological advancement (TTCTA) over the period 2004-2019. Other deterministic factors are included in the empirical study such as real gross domestic product (GDP), non-renewable energy consumption (NREC), and technological advancement (ATECH) to check their influence on environmental indicators. PMG-ARDL approach, cointegration techniques, and Granger causality tests are applied for the empirics part. In the long run, the outcomes show that real GDP, REC, and technological advancement contribute to decreasing CO₂ emissions, while NREC and FI contribute to increasing emissions levels. In the short run, only GDP and NREC significantly deteriorate the environmental quality. Granger shows a long-run bidirectional causality between CO₂ emissions, economic growth, REC, NREC, and ATECH.

The role of financialization in stimulating environmental innovation implementation in the European region

This paper empirically examines the influences of financial development on environmental innovation implementation. Our research is based on four measures designed to assess the effectiveness of environmental innovations in 24 European countries, including the percentage of enterprises implementing environmental innovation investment (% of surveyed firms); the percentage of enterprises implementing environmental innovation activities (e.g., implementation of resource efficiency actions, sustainable products, or ISO 14001 certificates) measured, a number of enterprises having new ISO 14001 registration and a number of environmental innovation-related patents. Based on our analysis and estimates, we reveal that the better quality of the financial system improved the environmental innovation performance in the European region during the 2011-2019 period. To shed light on the link between financialization and environmental innovations, we dig deeper into financial markets and financial institutions' depth, access, and efficiency. Our results highlight financial institutions and financial markets' depth and efficiency in enhancing EI activities. However, EI-related patents do not show any significant improvements under the changes in the financial system.

Environmental effects of ICT diffusion, energy consumption, financial development, and globalization: panel evidence from SAARC economies

The rising energy demand for information and communication technology (ICT) devices has piqued the interest of scholars and policymakers. Given that ICT devices are ubiquitous, any attempt to mitigate climate change should address the carbon footprint of the ICT sector. The present study examines the direct impact of ICT on the environment and the indirect impact through interaction with energy consumption, financial development, and globalization in SAARC economies from 2000 to 2020. Using econometric approaches robust to cross-sectional dependence, such as the Driscoll-Kraay estimator and the Dumitrescu-Hurlin causality test, the study found that ICT, renewable energy consumption, and globalization significantly reduce CO₂ emission, whereas non-renewable energy consumption and financial development significantly increase emission. However, the interaction between financial development and ICT jointly reduces CO₂ emissions. Similarly, renewable energy and globalization reduce emissions from increased ICT usage. The study also confirms the validity of the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis for ICT diffusion. The causality test indicates bidirectional causality between ICT and CO₂ emissions. Results suggest that SAARC economies can safely boost ICT and related applications to minimize emissions. They should also use renewable energy and green innovations in telecommunications to reduce their adverse environmental repercussions.

How does ICT affect the shadow economy towards environmental preservation? Evidence from a panel of developing and developed nations

Despite the increasing size of the shadow economy worldwide, more particularly for developing economies, limited scientific attention has been devoted to exploring its diverse impacts, such as the harmful environmental issues that could arise from informal activities. This study aims to investigate ICT impacts of the shadow sector on the environment using two-step system GMM method for two panels of 57 developing and 34 developed nations, spanning the years from 1998 to 2015. Two measures for the dependent variable are used: CO₂ emissions from transport activity and liquid energy demand. The size of the shadow economy and ICT are used as independent variables. The empirical evidence suggests four main results. First, the shadow economy harms the environment in the context of developed nations; however, it can reduce environmental degradation in developing economies. Second, ICT hurts the environment for all countries except telephone usage, which favors ecological quality in developing economies. Third, the association between ICT and the shadow economy positively affects the environment in developed countries, but it becomes very weak in developing ones. Fourth, the telephone is the most efficient technology for reducing air pollution in developed economies when adopted in the shadow sector. Public policy should encourage the adoption of new technologies in the shadow sector and the regularization of informal activities in developed economies to mitigate carbon emissions.

The role of ICT diffusion in sustainable human development: an empirical analysis from SAARC economies

This study intends to examine the impact of ICT diffusion, globalization, financial development, government effectiveness, and economic growth on sustainable human development (SHD) (i.e., the development of human capital adjusted against the human ecological footprint) using 2005-2020 panel data of SAARC economies. The methodology involves econometric techniques robust to cross-sectional dependence (CSD), such as Pesaran CSD tests; second-generation unit root tests; Pedroni, Kao, and Westerlund cointegration tests; FMOLS, DCCE-MG, and Driscoll-Kraay (DK) regressions; and DH causality tests. The findings of the cointegration tests demonstrate that the variables are cointegrated and have a long-run equilibrium relationship. The results from the DCCE-MG and DK regressions indicate that ICT diffusion has a significant favorable impact on SHD. Similarly, globalization and economic growth also have a significant positive impact on SHD. On the other hand, the impact of government effectiveness and financial development was found to be insignificant. In addition, the DH causality test results show the presence of a unidirectional causality running from ICT diffusion to SHD and globalization to SHD. A bidirectional causal link is detected between economic growth and SHD. Therefore, the study concludes that in order to resolve the undesirable consequences of environmental degradation on human development in the globalized era, it is essential for SAARC economies to tackle the challenges of adequate ICT infrastructure: particularly, access and affordability. By eliminating these significant barriers to ICT access, CO₂ emissions can be reduced, and human development can be sustained simultaneously.

Asymmetric role of non-renewable energy consumption, ICT, and financial development on ecological footprints: evidence from QARDL approach

This study examines long-term connection and short-term dynamics concerning ecological footprint and six independent variables, named fossil fuel consumption, energy consumption, financial depth, trade, GDP, and ICT for Pakistan's duration from 1960 to 2019. The "QARDL-quantile autoregressive distributed lag" technique is used for time series and panel estimation. The QARDL model exhibits the connection between variables over the quantiles range, reflecting varying stages of Pakistan's ecological footprint. The results exhibit noticeable quantile-varying co-integration connection among ecological footprint and six independent variables. The results accentuate the significant influence of energy consumption, strong financial position, economic growth, and ICT technologies on ecological well-being, which assists in understanding short and long-term impact on the environment in Pakistan.

ICTs, growth, and environmental quality nexus: dynamic panel threshold regression

ICTs (information and communication technologies) have emerged as a potent new force. Digitalization, modernization, and automation of the manufacturing process are expected to facilitate ICT adoption, resulting in increased genuine environmental concerns. This research aims to examine the impact of ICTs on environmental quality and the relationship between ICTs, environmental quality, and economic growth. Dynamic panel threshold regression was employed, and the sample countries comprised 69 developing countries from 2010 to 2019. The threshold technique will identify the precise threshold value of ICTs and highlights the impacts of ICTs on the environmental quality nexus when above and below the threshold value in developing countries. Empirical evidence suggests that ICTs positively impact environmental quality (CO₂) when above the ICTs threshold value. However, ICTs provide a positive but insignificant impact on environmental quality when below the ICTs threshold value of 4.699. Additionally, ICTs affect the economic growth and environmental quality nexus, with increasing economic growth resulting in a decrease in CO₂ emissions in developing countries when ICTs are below the threshold value. Thus, the ICTs threshold value should be used to ensure that ICTs adoption promotes sustainable economic growth and resolves environmental degradation issues in developing nations.

Investigation of the effect of human capital on environmental pollution: empirical evidence from Turkey

Reducing environmental pollution is a highly important issue that must be resolved globally. Improving human capital (HC) can significantly contribute to lowering environmental pollution. Using the Fourier ADL (FADL) method, this study examines the long-term effect of HC on carbon emissions (CO₂ emissions) and ecological footprint (EF) in Turkey from 1980 to 2018. In addition, the study examined the long-term effects of economic growth (GDP), financial development (FD), and globalization (KOF) on CO₂ emissions and EF. According to empirical results, HC has a negative effect on both CO₂ emissions and EF. Furthermore, the findings indicate that GDP and FD have a positive effect on CO₂ emissions and EF, whereas KOF has no statistically significant effect on CO₂ emissions and negative EF. According to the FFFF-TY causality test results, there is bidirectional causality between FD and EF and a unidirectional causality from HC to EF and from EF to KOF. This study underlines the importance of human capital in improving environmental quality in Turkey. In this context, the results of this study will assist policy makers in the development of precise policies to enhance human capital in order to improve environmental quality.

How do information and communication technology and urbanization affect carbon emissions? Evidence from 42 selected "Belt and Road Initiative" countries

Reducing carbon emissions is key to achieving the 13th UN sustainable development goals. With the acceleration of informatization and urbanization in the "Belt and Road Initiative" (BRI) countries, it is necessary to explore the impact of ICT and urbanization on carbon emissions in the BRI countries. This paper uses the Driscoll-Kraay panel regression method, multi-chain mediation effect model, and panel moment quantile regression method to study the influence channel and heterogeneous impact of ICT, urbanization, and their interaction on carbon emissions in 42 selected BRI countries. The main empirical results reveal the inhibition of ICT and the promotion of urbanization on carbon emissions. Moreover, the integrated development of ICT and urbanization contributes to reducing carbon emissions. Industrial structure upgrading and energy intensity are found to be the channels through which ICT, urbanization, and their interactions affect carbon emissions. In addition, the impact of ICT, urbanization, and their interaction on carbon emissions varies with different measurement indicators and quantiles. Therefore, it is suggested that BRI countries should formulate appropriate ICT development policies according to their conditions, strengthen ICT application, and especially promote the integrated development of ICT and urbanization, to achieve sustainable urban development.