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The Impact of Digital Technologies on CO2 Emissions: A Comparison between Developed and Developing Countries

Mahmoudi, Sanaz | 2023

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  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 56712 (44)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Management and Economics
  6. Advisor(s): Miremadi, Iman
  7. Abstract:
  8. The importance and vitality of focusing on sustainable transition and reducing carbon dioxide emissions are clear to everyone today. However, until recently, the impact of digitization as a major global trend involving the application of digital technologies to change and optimize various elements of business, society, and daily life on the environment and carbon dioxide emissions has been underestimated. Despite the growing amount of research in this field, according to current studies, the connection between digitization and carbon dioxide emissions is not clear. To achieve environmental and sustainable development goals, fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions must be significantly reduced. The impact of information and communication technology (ICT) on carbon dioxide emissions in 90 countries has been quantitatively examined in this study in accordance with previous literature, and the results have been compared depending on the level of development of the countries. The current study has identified variables such as access to ICT, the use of ICT, country development level (CDL), GDP per capita, urbanization, and renewable energy consumption as independent and control variables. To determine the optimal method, Hausman, Lagrange, and the F test for two-way effects have been used. The results show that the use and access to ICT have a strong correlation, while CDL, consumption of renewable energy, and urban population of countries have a weak correlation, so these two variables are aggregated in models 1 and 2, and ICT has been used in the construction of the model. Variance inflation factors were calculated to quantify multicollinearity in the data series used. The Levin-Lin-Chu constant test showed that all variables are constant, and the PLM, PF, and PH tests showed that the fixed effect model is the most appropriate approach according to our data set. The model showed a significant effect (0.00) of ICT on CO2 emissions. The estimated coefficient for the ICT index is 0.006, meaning that a one-unit increase in ICT is associated with a 0.006-unit increase in carbon emissions. The coefficients calculated for GDP per capita and urbanization rate are also statistically significant. This model has an R-squared value of 0.74, which means that the explanatory factors sufficiently account for a moderate portion of the variation in the outcome variable. The interaction between CDL and ICT is statistically significant and shows that the relationship between ICT and CO2 emissions depends on CDL. This interaction should be considered when assessing the impact of ICT on CO2 emissions, as CDL moderates the impact. In models 3 and 4, we also observed that both access and use of ICT had a significant and positive relationship with the emission of carbon dioxide gas, and according to the standardized beta coefficients, it was seen that the effect of both was almost the same. Although the interaction of CDL with these two variables showed that the interaction of CDL and the use of ICT is statistically significant, the relationship between the two indicators of the use of ICT and carbon dioxide emissions depends on CDL. Therefore, it should be considered when evaluating the impact of the use of ICT on the emission of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. On the other hand, the interaction between access to ICT and CDL was not statistically significant, which means that the relationship between access to ICT and carbon dioxide emissions remains constant at different levels of development in different countries. Finally, the generalizability of this study could be affected by the limited time period of 2007–2019 and should be replicated with a larger sample size. More research is needed to determine whether a country's ICT readiness index has an effect on environmental sustainability and carbon dioxide emissions. Other independent variables, such as emerging technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR), can also be considered in future research
  9. Keywords:
  10. Stability ; Carbon Dioxide Emission ; Sustainability Assessment ; Information and Communication Technology (ICT) ; Development Level ; Information and Communication Technology (ICT)Access ; Method Between Effects

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