Do ICT service exports and energy imports determine natural resource sustainability?

Abstract

The utilization and conservation of natural resources in China face severe challenges. Industrialization and urbanization are taking place in China. However, China's conventional development pattern seriously threatens sustainable natural resource exploitation. Sustainable development, therefore, involves achieving higher economic development than the global average while paying lower social and resource costs. This paper examines the impact of ICT service exports and energy imports on natural resource sustainability in China from 1971 to 2020, using employment and trade as moderator variables. We employed ML ARCH - normal distribution BFGS Marquardt steps in the empirical analysis. Our result suggests that energy imports are statistically significant at 10%. ICT service exports are statistically significant at 1% significance, while total unemployment and trade are statistically significant at 5% significance. ICT service exports and total unemployment in China are negatively related to natural resource sustainability, while net energy imports and trade are positively related. ICT service exports have been found to impact natural resource sustainability positively. The use of technology has enabled the efficient management of resources, reducing waste and increasing productivity. This, in turn, has contributed to preserving natural resources, ensuring that they are used sustainably. On the other hand, energy imports have been shown to discourage sustainable development. Dependence on imported energy sources can lead to a lack of control over resource management, reducing the ability to ensure sustainability in the long term. This can lead to increased environmental degradation and negatively impacting natural resource sustainability.