The Effects of ICTs, Total Factor Productivity, Trade Openness, Renewable Energy and Electricity Consumption on Ecological Footprint in Türkiye

As countries pursue growth and increased productivity within a sustainable economy, the digitalisation and energy efficiency, alongside the increased production of clean energy, are becoming increasingly important. This research evaluates the consequences of information and communication technologies (ICT), total factor productivity (TFP), trade openness, renewable energy, and electricity consumption— considered as indicators of green energy—on Turkiye’s ecological footprint (EFP) during the period 1990–2022. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) methodology is employed to estimate the long-run associations and short-run dynamics between these variables. According to the long-run estimation results, electricity consumption contributes significantly to environmental degradation and thus demonstrates that energy production remains dependent on carbon-intensive energy sources. In contrast, trade openness and internet usage are associated with a reductive effect on the ecological footprint, although short-term coefficients differ slightly from long-term estimates. The findings also point out that electricity consumption and TFP intensify environmental pressure, while mobile phone subscriptions aggravate ecological degradation in the short run. To summarise, this study conducted within the scope of Turkiye emphasises the necessity of policy measures that promote sustainable digitalisation and the implementation of energy-efficient technologies to reduce the environmental costs of economic and technological development.