Role of high technology exports for energy efficiency: Empirical evidence in the context of Gulf Cooperation Council countries

Abstract

This article explores the impacts of high technology exports on energy consumption, energy intensity, and carbon intensity for a panel of six GCC economies covering a period of 1990 to 2017. For detailed empirical analysis, we employ panel techniques to explore the linkages between high technology exports and energy efficiency in GCC countries. The empirical results demonstrate that high technology exports help to reduce overall energy demand with −0.154% and energy intensity with −0.254% in GCC countries. Notably, we observe that effects on technology exports on carbon intensity are significantly lower in magnitude with −0.010%. Notably, the long empirics are in consistent with achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) of GCC countries (cleaner and affordable energy, environmental awareness, climate change action, etc.). The findings suggest that new and innovative energy conservation policies should be introduced to promote energy efficient equipment’s and technologies for cleaner and greener growth.