Energy transition, trade and green productivity in advanced economies

Abstract

Despite the global economy has gained rapid development, there are severe environmental and energy challenges, which should be paid sufficient attention. The proposal of the concept of green productivity and the promotion of clean energy consumption are both conducive to ecological environmental protection. This paper uses nonparametric approach to assess the green productivity of 36 advanced countries from 1990 to 2019 and the possible energy transition based on existing technologies. Green growth in most developed countries is positive, while the efficiency change is negative and the technological progress is the main driving force for economic and environmental development. Moreover, our empirical results demonstrate that international trade promotes green productivity in advanced countries. The average possible energy transition rate of developed countries is 4.78%. This indicates that 4.78% of the total energy consumption of each advanced country can be converted from dirty energy to clean energy on average.