Evaluating the Role of Renewable Energy and Technology Innovations in Lowering CO2 Emission

Abstract

Environmental sustainability is one of the most critical issues that require efficient environmental and economic policies in modern times. Advancements in renewables and green technologies contribute significantly to sustained long-term development without affecting environmental quality. Several studies focus on the association of carbon dioxide emissions (CO2e) with economic variables. However, they ignored the impact of technological innovations and renewable energy consumption on CO2e in developed countries. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between CO2e, energy consumption, gross domestic product (GDP), renewable energy consumption, and technology innovations in G-7 countries by employing cross-sectionally augmented autoregressive distributed (CS-ARDL) lag and wavelet coherence techniques during 1990–2020. The results depict that GDP and renewable energy consumption are inversely related to CO2e. A 1% increase in CO2e will decrease GDP and renewable energy consumption by 0.459 and 0.172% in the long run and by 0.471 and 0.183% in the short run in G7 countries. Technology innovations negatively impact CO2e in the short run while positively influencing it in the long run. Considering the advancements in green technologies in different energy-dependent and manufacturing sectors is crucial for a sustainable environment in the long run. Such initiatives ensure the effective use of energy sources by limiting CO2e in the atmosphere. Moreover, the dynamic common correlated effects mean group model confirms the reliability and effectiveness of the CS-ARDL. The wavelet coherence approach revealed a causality relation between CO2e and technology innovation in Italy, Japan, the UK, and the USA during the study period.