Medium- and High-Tech Export and Renewable Energy Consumption: Non-Linear Evidence from the ASEAN Countries

Cong Khai Dinh,Trung Thanh Nguyen,Quang Thanh Ngo

doi:10.3390/en14154419

Cong Khai Dinh, Trung Thanh Nguyen + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14154419

Copy DOI

Abstract

Sustaining economic growth while reducing dependence on fossil fuels remains a challenge for our world to fight against climate change and therefore finding a way to promote economic growth and increase renewable energy use is needed. This paper uses a 22-year panel dataset (1994–2015) of 9 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations provided by the World Bank World Development Indicators to examine the impact of medium- and high-tech export on renewable energy use. We employ a fixed-effects regression model with the Driscoll–Kraay nonparametric covariance matrix estimator to account for sectoral and temporal dependence. We also control for inflation, employment, population growth, and gross domestic product per capita in our estimations. Our results demonstrate a U-shaped association between medium- and high-tech export and renewable energy consumption of these economies. The results propose that enhancing medium- and high-tech export could be a feasible solution for promoting renewable energy consumption.

Highlights

Regarding the effect of medium- and high-tech export, Table 3 shows that the mediumand high-tech export has a significant U-shaped relationship with the share of renewable energy use of these ASEAN-9 countries
Once the economy has reached a certain level of medium- and high-tech export, the higher the level of medium- and high-tech export, the higher the share of renewable energy in the total energy consumption of that economy
Our study investigates the influences of medium- and high-tech export on the renewable energy use of nine ASEAN countries in the period 1994–2015

Summary

Introduction

In addition to the need for reducing emissions, continuingly increasing fossil fuel prices, fears of unaffordable and rapidly depleting sources of fossil fuels, and the desire to transitioning into a low carbon economy have combined to heighten the importance of renewable energy use [1]. Several countries have set a target of specific renewable energy share in their total energy consumption. China pledges to be carbon neutral by 2060 and sets the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25% by 2030 from a previous commitment of 20%. Increasing renewable energy consumption is not easy for many developing countries, especially for rapidly growing economies as their demand for energy is increasing and their technical and financial capacities for a large-scale supply of renewable energy are limited

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion