ICT, openness and CO2 emissions in Africa

Abstract

This study investigates how information and communication technology (ICT) complements globalisation in order to influence CO emissions in 44 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2000-2012. ICT is measured with internet penetration and mobile phone penetration whereas globalisation is designated in terms of trade and financial openness. The empirical evidence is based on the generalised method of moments. The findings broadly show that ICT can be employed to dampen the potentially negative effect of globalisation on environmental degradation like CO emissions. Practical, policy and theoretical implications are discussed.

Inclusive development in environmental sustainability in sub‐Saharan Africa: Insights from governance mechanisms

“…The outcome variable of environmental pollution that is proxied by CO 2 emissions per capita is consistent with recent environmental pollution literature in SSA (Asongu, , ). The governance mechanisms from Kaufmann, Kraay, and Mastruzzi () are increasingly being used in the governance literature.…”

“…The outcome variable of environmental pollution that is proxied by CO 2 emissions per capita is consistent with recent environmental pollution literature in SSA (Asongu, 2018a(Asongu, , 2018b. The governance mechanisms from Kaufmann, Kraay, and Mastruzzi (2010) are 1 The conception and definition of policy syndrome in the light of contemporary inclusive development literature is "inequality" or "growth that is not inclusive" (Asongu & Nwachukwu, 2017a;Tchamyou, Erreygers & Cassimon, 2018).…”

CO2 Emission Thresholds for Inclusive Human Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…(ii) The emission of Carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) constitutes about three-quarter of emissions of green house gases globally (Akpan, 2012) and many estimates are consistent with the fact that the negative consequences of climate change will be most felt in Africa (Kifle, 2008;Asongu, 2018).…”

Linkages between Globalisation, Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Second, carbon dioxide emissions which are at an all time high (McGrath, 2018) represent a considerable challenge to environmental sustainability in the light of Sustainable Development Goals which centre on the promotion of the green economy (Asongu, le Roux & Biekpe, 2017, 2018bEfobi et al, 2019). McGrath (2018) further maintains that net outputs from green growth are not enough to dampen the growing pollution of the environment.…”

“…With respect to African-centric literature, the studies closest to this paper are Asongu (2018b) and Asongu et al (2018a) which have respectively, established the connection between globalization and carbon dioxide emissions and the relationship between globalization and governance. In essence, Asongu (2018b) has investigated linkages between information and communication technology, globalization and carbon dioxide emissions while Asongu et al (2018a) have contributed to the empirics by establishing that various components of globalization affect governance dynamics. The current research builds on these two studies in the light of the identified shortcomings in the environmental degradation literature, to assess how globalization-moderated carbon dioxide emissions influence governance standards in sub-Saharan Africa.…”