Environmental Sustainability in Technologically Advanced Economies: The Role of Eco-Digitalization, Green Finance, and Green Technology

Authors

  • Maria Mazhar, Muhammad Tariq Majeed and Isma Samreen

Keywords:

Eco-digitalization, ICT, green technology, green finance, environmental sustainability, carbon emissions, ecological footprint.

Abstract

This study investigates the effects of eco-digitalization, green technology, and green finance on environmental sustainability in the presence of affluence and population. The sample size consists of a panel of 19 technologically advanced economies covering the time span from 1980 to 2023. The econometric model is designed using the STIRPAT framework. The empirical results are based on panel time series analysis. The panel unit root tests illustrate that variables are stationary at the first difference and follow the I (1) order of integration. The panel cointegration test confirms the presence of long-run relationships between the variables. The empirical findings reveal that eco-digitalization, green technology, and green finance help to boost environmental sustainability by reducing carbon emissions and ecological footprints in technologically advanced economies. Furthermore, the empirical investigation proceeds using two major technological phases in the sampled economies. The results reveal heterogeneous effects of technological innovations and population growth on environmental quality across the phases of technological advancement. Our findings are helpful for policymakers, environmentalists, and development practitioners in designing and implementing policies that help mitigate carbon emissions and achieve environmental sustainability.

References

Asif, M., Yunrong, L., Zia, M. A., Hashim, M., Bhatti, U. A., Bhatti, M. A., & Hasnain,

A. (2025). Evaluating the effectiveness of green finance mechanisms, digitalization, globalization, and renewable energy consumption in advancing environmental sustainability in G20 countries. Energy & Environment, Published online, Feb 25, 2025.

Adebayo, T. S., & Kirikkaleli, D. (2021). Impact of renewable energy consumption, globalization, and technological innovation on environmental degradation in Japan: application of wavelet tools. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 23(11), 16057- 16082.

Ahirwar, R., & Tripathi, A. K. (2021). E-waste management: A review of recycling process, environmental and occupational health hazards, and potential solutions. Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring & Management, 15, 100409.

Al Mamun, M., Boubaker, S., & Nguyen, D. K. (2022). Green finance and decarbonization: Evidence from around the world. Finance Research Letters, 46, 102807.

Amri, F., & Nasri, K. (2025). Innovation technology and environmental sustainability: income is key. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Published: 06 January 2025.

Anwar, A., Sinha, A., Sharif, A., Siddique, M., Irshad, S., Anwar, W., & Malik, S. (2022). The nexus between urbanization, renewable energy consumption, financial development, and CO 2 emissions: Evidence from selected Asian countries. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24, 6556-6576.

Bai, L., Guo, T., Xu, W., Liu, Y., Kuang, M., & Jiang, L. (2023). Effects of digital economy on carbon emission intensity in Chinese cities: A life-cycle theory and the application of non-linear spatial panel smooth transition threshold model. Energy Policy, 183, 113792.

Belkhir, L., & Elmeligi, A. (2018). Assessing ICT global emissions footprint: Trends to 2040 & recommendations. Journal of Cleaner Production, 177, 448-463.

Breitung, J. (2001). The local power of some unit root tests for panel data. In Nonstationary panels, panel cointegration, and dynamic panels (pp. 161-177). Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Cheng, C., Ren, X., Dong, K., Dong, X., & Wang, Z. (2021). How does technological innovation mitigate CO2 emissions in OECD countries? Heterogeneous analysis using panel quantile regression. Journal of Environmental Management, 280, 111818.

Chin, M. Y., Ong, S. L., Ooi, D. B. Y., & Puah, C. H. (2024). The impact of green finance

on environmental degradation in BRI region. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(1), 303-318.

Chen, X., & Zhou, Y. (2024). Population control, technology, and economic growth.

International Journal of Economic Theory, 20(1), 28-55.

Dhir, A., Koshta, N., Goyal, R. K., Sakashita, M., & Almotairi, M. (2021). Behavioral reasoning theory (BRT) perspectives on E-waste recycling and management. Journal of Cleaner Production, 280, 124269.

Frey, C. B., & Osborne, M. A. (2017). The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?. Technological forecasting and social change, 114, 254-280.

Fu, C., Lu, L., & Pirabi, M. (2024). Advancing green finance: A review of climate change and decarbonization. Digital Economy and Sustainable Development, 2(1), 1-23.

GFN (2025). Global Footprint Network. Oakland, California, United States. [Online] Available at: https://www.footprintnetwork.org/ (accessed on February 20th, 2025).

Gao, P., Wang, Y., Zou, Y., Su, X., Che, X., & Yang, X. (2022). Green technology innovation and carbon emissions nexus in China: Does industrial structure upgrading matter?. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 951172.

Guo, L., Tan, W., Xu, Y., & Tang, Q. (2024). Curbing regional carbon emissions through green technology innovation: an empirical analysis in China. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 27, 9477–9500.

Global Carbon Budget (2024) CO2 and Greenhouse gas emissions. Retrieved from; https://ourworldindata.org/co2-emissions

Grieves, M. W. (2023). Digital twins: past, present, and future. In The digital twin (pp. 97- 121). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Han, F., Ibrahim, R. L., Al-Mulali, U., & Al-Faryan, M. A. S. (2024). Tracking the roadmaps to sustainability: what do the symmetric effects of eco-digitalization, green technology, green finance, and renewable energy portend for China?. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 26(6), 13895-13919.

Hilty, L. M., & Aebischer, B. (2015). ICT for sustainability: An emerging research field. In: Hilty, L., Aebischer, B. (eds) ICT Innovations for Sustainability. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 310. Springer.

Hu, J., Sun, Q., & Wang, W. (2024). The role of green and digital technology convergence on carbon emission reduction: evidence from China. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 12, 1490657.

Hussain, M., Mir, G. M., Usman, M., Ye, C., & Mansoor, S. (2022). Analysing the role of environment-related technologies and carbon emissions in emerging economies: a step towards sustainable development. Environmental Technology, 43(3), 367-375.

Ibrahim, R. L., Al-mulali, U., Ozturk, I., Bello, A. K., & Raimi, L. (2022). On the criticality

of renewable energy to sustainable development: do green financial development, technological innovation, and economic complexity matter for China?. Renewable Energy, 199, 262-277.

Im, K. S., Pesaran, M. H., & Shin, Y. (2003). Testing for unit roots in heterogeneous panels.

Journal of Econometrics, 115(1), 53-74.

International Energy Agency (IEA). (2009). World Energy Outlook 2009. Paris: IEA. International Energy Agency (IEA). (2022). World Energy Outlook 2022. Paris: IEA.

IPCC. (2021). Climate change 2021: The physical science basis. Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/

Jacobson, M. Z., Delucchi, M. A., Cameron, M. A., & Frew, B. A. (2015). Low-cost solution to the grid reliability problem with 100% penetration of intermittent wind, water, and solar for all purposes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(49), 15060-15065.

Johnson, T. L., & Swem, N. (2021). Reputation and investor activism: A structural approach. Journal of Financial Economics, 139(1), 29-56.

Kao, C. (1999). Spurious regression and residual-based tests for cointegration in panel data.

Journal of Econometrics, 90(1), 1-44.

Levin, A., Lin, C. F., & Chu, C. S. J. (2002). Unit root tests in panel data: asymptotic and finite-sample properties. Journal of Econometrics, 108(1), 1-24.

Lin, B., & Ma, R. (2022). Green technology innovations, urban innovation environment and CO2 emission reduction in China: Fresh evidence from a partially linear functional- coefficient panel model. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 176, 121434.

Maddala, G. S., & Wu, S. (1999). A comparative study of unit root tests with panel data and a new simple test. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and statistics, 61(S1), 631-652.

Majeed, M. T. (2018). Information and communication technology (ICT) and environmental sustainability in developed and developing countries. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 12(3), 758-783.

Majeed, M. T., & Ayub, T. (2018). Information and communication technology (ICT) and economic growth nexus: A comparative global analysis. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 12(2), 443-476.

Majeed, M. T., & Mazhar, M. (2019). Financial development and ecological footprint: a

global panel data analysis. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 13(2), 487-514.

Majeed, M. T., & Ozturk, I. (2020). Environmental degradation and population health outcomes: a global panel data analysis. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 27(13), 15901-15911.

Majeed, M. T., & Tauqir, A. (2020). Effects of urbanization, industrialization, economic growth, energy consumption, financial development on carbon emissions: an extended STIRPAT model for heterogeneous income groups. Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences, 14(3), 652-681.

Meo, M. S., & Abd Karim, M. Z. (2022). The role of green finance in reducing CO2 emissions: An empirical analysis. Borsa Istanbul Review, 22(1), 169-178.

Mohamed, E. F., Abdullah, A., Jaaffar, A. H., & Osabohien, R. (2024). Reinvestigating the EKC hypothesis: Does renewable energy in power generation reduce carbon emissions and ecological footprint?. Energy Strategy Reviews, 53, 101387.

Muganyi, T., Yan, L., & Sun, H. P. (2021). Green finance, fintech and environmental protection: Evidence from China. Environmental Science and Ecotechnology, 7, 100107.

Nehra, M. P., Selvi, M. T., Dasarathy, A. K., Naqvi, S. R., Kumar, J. R. R., & Soundarraj,

P. L. (2023). Green Technology Implementation for Environmental Sustainability;

Applications and Challenges. Journal of Informatics Education and Research, 3(2), 1526-4726.

Obobisa, E. S., Chen, H., & Mensah, I. A. (2022). The impact of green technological innovation and institutional quality on CO2 emissions in African countries. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 180, 121670.

OECD. (2021). Green growth and sustainable development. Retrieved from https://www.oecd.org/greengrowth/

OECD. (2025). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Paris, France. [Online] Available at: https://data-explorer.oecd.org/ (February 20th, 2025).

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). 2020. A Roadmap Toward a Common Framework for Measuring the Digital Economy: Report for the G20 Digital Economy Task Force.

Ones, D. S., & Dilchert, S. (2012). Environmental sustainability at work: A call to action.

Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 5(4), 444-466.

Pedroni, P. (1999). Critical values for cointegration tests in heterogeneous panels with multiple regressors. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and statistics, 61(S1), 653-670.

Peng, J., & Zheng, Y. (2021). Does environmental policy promote energy efficiency? Evidence from China in the context of developing green finance. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 9, 733349.

Russell, S. J., & Norvig, P. (2016). Artificial intelligence: a modern approach. Pearson. https://thuvienso.hoasen.edu.vn/handle/123456789/8967

Sanjukta Banerjee, S. B., & Akuli, R. K. (2014). Advantages of green technology. Recent Research in Science and Technology,6(1) 97-100.

Shen, Y., Su, Z. W., Malik, M. Y., Umar, M., Khan, Z., & Khan, M. (2021). Does green investment, financial development and natural resources rent limit carbon emissions? A

provincial panel analysis of China. Science of the Total Environment, 755, 142538.

Škare, M., Gavurova, B., & Porada-Rochon, M. (2024). Digitalization and carbon footprint: Building a path to a sustainable economic growth. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 199, 123045.

Song, A., Rasool, Z., Nazar, R., & Anser, M. K. (2024). Towards a greener future: How green technology innovation and energy efficiency are transforming sustainability. Energy, 290, 129891.

Siedschlag, I., & Yan, W. (2020). Green investments and firm performance. ESRI Working Paper 672 July 2020.

Udeagha, M. C., & Muchapondwa, E. (2023). Green finance, fintech, and environmental sustainability: fresh policy insights from the BRICS nations. International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, 30(6), 633-649.

Udeagha, M. C., & Ngepah, N. (2023). The drivers of environmental sustainability in BRICS economies: do green finance and fintech matter?. World Development Sustainability, 3, 100096.

Ullah, S., Ozturk, I., Majeed, M. T., & Ahmad, W. (2021). Do technological innovations have symmetric or asymmetric effects on environmental quality? Evidence from Pakistan. Journal of Cleaner Production, 316, 128239.

Umar, M., & Safi, A. (2023). Do green finance and innovation matter for environmental protection? A case of OECD economies. Energy Economics, 119, 106560.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). (2022). Technology and Innovation Report 2022: The Role of Green Technologies in Sustainable Development. Geneva: United Nations.

US-EIA. (2025). US-Energy Information Administration. Washington, D.C, United States. [Online] Available at: https://www.eia.gov/ (February 20th, 2025).

World Bank (2025). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC: World Bank. [Online] Available at: http://data.worldbank.org/products/wdi (February 20th, 2025).

Wackernagel, M., & Lin, D. (2023). Biocapacity and Regeneration. In Handbook of the Anthropocene: Humans between Heritage and Future (pp. 17-20). Cham: Springer International Publishing.

Wang, J., Dong, K., Sha, Y., & Yan, C. (2022). Envisaging the carbon emissions efficiency of digitalization: The case of the internet economy for China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 184, 121965.

Wang, Y., Zhu, M., Yuan, J., Wang, G., & Zhou, H. (2024). The intelligent prediction and assessment of financial information risk in the cloud computing model. arXiv preprint arXiv:2404.09322.

Wang, J., Dong, X., & Dong, K. (2022). How digital industries affect China's carbon

emissions? Analysis of the direct and indirect structural effects. Technology in Society, 68, 101911.

Wang, Y., & Zhi, Q. (2016). The role of green finance in environmental protection: Two aspects of market mechanism and policies. Energy Procedia, 104, 311-316.

Wang, Q., & Zhang, F. (2020). Does increasing investment in research and development promote economic growth decoupling from carbon emission growth? An empirical analysis of BRICS countries. Journal of Cleaner Production, 252, 119853.

Wei, J., Jiang, T., Ménager, P., Kim, D. G., & Dong, W. (2025). COP29: Progresses and challenges to global efforts on the climate crisis. The Innovation, 6(1), 100748, 1-2.

Weina, D., Gilli, M., Mazzanti, M., & Nicolli, F. (2016). Green inventions and greenhouse gas emission dynamics: a close examination of provincial Italian data. Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, 18, 247-263.

Xin, B., Jiang, K., & Gonzalez, E. D. S. (2024). The coevolution effect of central bank digital currency and green bonds on the net-zero economy. Energy Economics, 134, 107587.

Yang, Z., Gao, W., Han, Q., Qi, L., Cui, Y., & Chen, Y. (2022). Digitalization and carbon emissions: how does digital city construction affect China's carbon emission reduction?. Sustainable Cities and Society, 87, 104201.

Yu, H., & Liu, H. (2024). Impact of digitization on carbon productivity: an empirical analysis of 136 countries. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 5094.

Zaghdoud, O. (2025). Technological progress as a catalyst for energy efficiency: A sustainable technology perspective. Sustainable Technology and Entrepreneurship, 4(1), 100084.

Zeng, S., Li, T., Wu, S., Gao, W., & Li, G. (2024). Does green technology progress have a significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions?. Energy Economics, 133, 107524.

Zhang, M., Ajide, K. B., & Ridwan, L. I. (2021). Heterogeneous dynamic impacts of nonrenewable energy, resource rents, technology, human capital, and population on environmental quality in Sub-Saharan African countries. Environment, Development and Sustainability, 24,11817-11851.

Zhang, Z., Chen, L., Li, J., & Ding, S. (2024). Digital economy development and carbon

emission intensity—mechanisms and evidence from 72 countries. Scientific Reports, 14(1), 28459.

Zaman, M., Sheraz, M., Qin, Q., & Mumtaz, M. Z. (2025). Pursuing the Roadmaps to SDG 13: How Climate Change Technology Moderates the Nexus Between Digital Finance and Environmental Sustainability. Sustainable Development. Early Online: 4 March 2025.

Downloads

Published

2025-03-31

How to Cite

Environmental Sustainability in Technologically Advanced Economies: The Role of Eco-Digitalization, Green Finance, and Green Technology. (2025). Pakistan Journal of Commerce and Social Sciences (ISSN 1997-8553), 19(1), 28-54. https://jes.ac.pk/index.php/jes/article/view/2