The role of information and communication technologies for environmental sustainability: Evidence from a large panel data analysis

This study investigates the nexus between CO2 emissions and ICTs for a large sample of countries. We cover 93 countries over the period 1995-2016 and use three different variables as a proxy for ICTs, i.e., individuals using the internet, fixed telephone subscriptions, and mobile cellular subscriptions. From the methodological viewpoint, we first classify countries using an endogenous data-driven algorithm based on the transitional behavior of CO2 emissions and obtain country groups with low, middle, and high per capita CO2 emissions. After checking the long-run cointegration between CO2 emissions and its determinants in the second step, we thirdly estimate the parameters using three different mean group estimators by controlling the effect of globalization on the environment. The results confirm the presence of cointegration among the variables. Besides, information technology has a statistically significant and positive impact on CO2 emissions. However, this effect does not depend on the per capita CO2 emissions level of countries. The impact of globalization on CO2 emissions is statistically significant and negative in countries with high and middle per capita emissions. While income per capita is one of the most important determinants of CO2 emissions for all country clubs, the estimated coefficients of the population are found to be statistically insignificant. Based on these empirical findings, further policy implications for ICTs, CO2 emissions, globalization, and economic growth are discussed.