The Effect of Information and Communication Technology on Environmentally Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Role of Green Innovation and Industrial Structure

Over the past decades, there have been growing policy and scholarly concerns related to sustainable development in light of growing trends in resource depletion, climate change and environmental degradation. Moreover, such concerns have been documented to be more apparent in sub-Saharan Africa compared to other regions of the world. This study examines the role of green innovation and industrial structure in the relationship between information and communication technologies (ICTs) and environmentally sustainable development in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Utilising data from 41 SSA countries from 1998 to 2022, we employ the ARDL model, PMG estimator, and Granger causality to address methodological challenges. Our findings show that ICT and green innovation are essential for promoting environmental sustainability. Specifically, the results reveal that ICT significantly reduces CO2 emissions, and investments in green technology also lead to substantial reductions in carbon and methane emissions. However, the industrial structure in SSA countries presents challenges to environmental sustainability. Moreover, the interaction effects between ICT and GDP, as well as between ICT and foreign direct investment (FDI), suggest that integrating ICT with economic growth and FDI can significantly reduce both carbon and methane emissions. Therefore, policymakers are urged to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation by investing in ICT and implementing regulations that encourage sustainable practices among investors.