The impact of ICT infrastructure, technological innovation, renewable energy consumption and financial development on carbon dioxide emission in emerging economies: new evidence from Vietnam

Abstract

PurposeThis study is intended to analyze the impact of information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, technological innovation, renewable energy consumption and financial development on carbon dioxide emissions in emerging economies.Design/methodology/approachThe present study adopts the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) cointegration technique for the annual data collection of Vietnam from 1990 to 2020.FindingsThe results of the study unveil that renewable energy consumption, the interaction between renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure and financial development have significant predictive power for carbon dioxide emissions. In the long term, renewable energy consumption, export and population growth reduce CO2 emissions, whereas the interaction between renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure and financial development increases CO2 emissions, while ICT infrastructure does not affect emissions. In the short run, changes in ICT infrastructure contribute to carbon dioxide emissions in Vietnam. In addition, changes in renewable energy consumption, financial development, the interaction between ICT infrastructure and renewable energy consumption and population growth have a significant effect on CO2 emissions. Notably, technological innovation has no impact on CO2 emissions in both the short and long run.Originality/valueThe current study provides new insights into the environmental effects of ICT infrastructure, technological innovation, renewable energy consumption and financial development. The interaction between renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure has a significant effect on carbon dioxide emissions. The paper suggests important implications for setting long-run policies to boost the effects of financial development, renewable energy consumption and ICT infrastructure on environmental quality in emerging countries like Vietnam in the coming time.