Recent developments in green hydrogen–environmental sustainability nexus amidst energy efficiency, green finance, eco-innovation, and digitalization in top hydrogen-consuming economies

Abstract

The present era is facing a dilemma relating to engaging the essentialities of energy resources to attain economic prosperity due to the ensuing environmental complications. Consequently, sectors such as transport, aviation, and refining industries are under the scrutiny of reducing their reliance on fossil fuels achievable with the promotion of hydrogen energy which is largely neglected in the environmental empirics. To this end, the environmental impacts of green hydrogen in the top seven hydrogen-consuming countries are assessed from 1995 to 2019. Moreover, the roles of green finance, environmental-related technologies, energy efficiency, and digitalization are considered in the model specified within the STIRPAT framework. Second generation estimators comprising cross-section autoregressive distributed lag, Common Correlated Effect Mean Group, Augmented Mean Group, and Method of Moment Quantile Regression are employed in evaluating the stated hypotheses. Feedbacks from the analysis uncovered that green hydrogen; green finance, environmental-related technologies, energy efficiencies, digitalization, and structural change promote environmental sustainability in the top seven hydrogen-consuming countries. Contrariwise, natural resource dependence and urbanization trigger CO2 emissions, thereby exacerbating environmental complications. Based on the findings, policy measures leading toward sustainable environment are suggested.