Assessment of the Impact of Digitalization on Greenhouse Gas Emissions on the Example of EU Member States

Abstract

Digitization and climate neutrality are among the development priorities of EU member states. This causes wide scientific and practical interest in the description of these processes, including their mutual influence. In this case, digitalization is a factor, and climate neutrality, largely characterized by green-house gas emissions, is the answer. Therefore, the purpose of the study is to assess the impact of digitalization on greenhouse gas emissions using the example of EU member states. The scientific novelty of the obtained results is the proposition of hypotheses, the proof of which will allow us to estimate the level of influence of the digitalization process on the volume of greenhouse gases per capita of the EU member states using economic and mathematical tools. It is justified that the direct impact of digitalization on the level of greenhouse gas emissions cannot be considered significant and statistically significant. The impact of digitalization on the processes of reducing greenhouse gas emissions with a delay of 1 to 4 years has not been identified. Considering the low degree of correlation-regression dependence between greenhouse gas emissions and the level of digitization, it can be assumed that either (1) other factors have a significant impact (list), or (2) the observation horizon is “captured” only by the part of the Kuznets curve, which corresponds to the descending part parabolas. Consequently, the conducted analysis shows that there are serious reasons to believe that digitalization is not the main (leading) factor in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This necessitates further research with the inclusion of a wide range of variables (related to regulatory policy, tax policy, investment policy, the culture of consumption) in the model.

Exploring Public Attitudes and Acceptance of CCUS Technologies in JABODETABEK: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…The engineering projects for CCS and CCUS technologies are highly complex and require extensive research in various engineering and science disciplines, including geology, geoengineering, geophysics, environmental engineering, mathematics, and computer science, for their successful implementation. The site selection process for these projects is crucial to their success and must consider safety, the economy, the environment, and public acceptance at all levels of operation, including country-wide, basin-wide, regional, or sub-basin levels [28,29]. Although CCS and CCUS technologies have similarities in their site selection process, they will induce different physical and chemical responses The engineering projects for CCS and CCUS technologies are highly complex and require extensive research in various engineering and science disciplines, including geology, geoengineering, geophysics, environmental engineering, mathematics, and computer science, for their successful implementation.…”

“…Although CCS and CCUS technologies have similarities in their site selection process, they will induce different physical and chemical responses The engineering projects for CCS and CCUS technologies are highly complex and require extensive research in various engineering and science disciplines, including geology, geoengineering, geophysics, environmental engineering, mathematics, and computer science, for their successful implementation. The site selection process for these projects is crucial to their success and must consider safety, the economy, the environment, and public acceptance at all levels of operation, including country-wide, basin-wide, regional, or sub-basin levels [28,29]. Although CCS and CCUS technologies have similarities in their site selection process, they will induce different physical and chemical responses in underground porous or fractured rock formations, depending on existing hydrological (H), thermal (T), mechanical (M), and chemical (C) fields [30,31].…”

The Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption on Environmental Quality in Central European Countries: The Mediating Role of Digitalization and Financial Development

“…Notably, the positive impact of digital skills and busi-ness digitization became more evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kuzior et al [11] investigate the impact of digitalization on greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union countries. Surprisingly, the study concludes that digitalization's direct impact on greenhouse gas emissions is not significant or statistically noteworthy, and no observable effect was detected within a 1 to 4-year delay.…”

Applying Energy Taxes to Promote a Clean, Sustainable and Secure Energy System: Finding the Preferable Approaches

“…Active integration of the Sustainable Development Goals takes place not only in national and global economic policies, but also in business strategy. Modern innovative business solutions aim not only to improve the technological efficiency and profitability of business activities, but also to reduce the impact on the environment both because of the greening of the production process and due to the production of products that are environmentally neutral when used [26][27][28][29]. Corporate social responsibility becomes a guarantee not only of sustainable business development, but also of its financial success, which is measured based on the impact of the company's reputation and the formation of its green brand [30][31][32].…”