The Effects of ICT and Technological Innovation on Environmental Quality: Evidence from Asian Developing Countries

ICT has been considered a crucial player in environmental quality in the present age of industrial revolution and technological advancement. This study, therefore, seeks to examine the effects of ICT on environmental quality including technological innovation in selected Asian developing countries. A panel data that spanned from 1990 to 2018 is utilized to pursue the objectives of this study by applying second-generation panel approaches. In the long run, an inverted U-shaped relationship between the ICT index and CO2 emission is found by FEM and FMOLS estimators, indicating that environmental pollution decreases after attaining a threshold level of ICT development in selected Asian developing countries. The study reveals that technological innovation has a negative and significant influence on reducing CO2 emission, leading to energy efficiency and diminishing the intensity of energy used by inventing environmentally friendly technologies. Besides, electricity consumption and economic growth have positive and significant effects on the environment however, a negative and significant effect is found in the case of trade openness. The interactive effect of ICT and economic growth decreases the level of pollution while the moderate effect of ICT and technological innovation worsens the environmental quality in sample countries. The findings reveal that the role of ICT and technological innovation in mitigating environmental degradation still needs improvement in sample countries. The use of environmentally friendly ICT products and more green technological innovation are needed to improve energy efficiency by providing more fiscal incentives and infrastructures and enforcing environmental laws and regulations in the sample countries.